Bahrain’s ban on outdoor work during the hottest hours of the day may have cost construction companies millions, a prominent construction industry official has said.
Nedham Kameshki, a senior member of Bahrain’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), said many projects have been delayed as a result of the policy and that construction firms may seek compensation from the government for any penalties incurred for late delivery of projects, reported Bahrain’s Gulf Daily News.
“Everyone [contractors] is pleased it is over,” Kameshki, who is the vice-chair of BCCI’s contractors committee, said about the ban, which ended on Friday.
“It did not help anybody – it was one of the worst two months we have had. Our contracts have been delayed and we have a problem with our clients, investors and consultants.”
Bahrain imposed the ban in June, which forbids employees from working between noon to 4pm between July and August.
Kameshki believes introduction of the new rules should have been given much further in advance and said the government should have given companies a one-month extension for their project delivery deadlines.
“One contractor said it cost him 30,000 Bahraini dinars ($79,388) a day for those four hours. I have a lot of respect for the Labour Ministry but I think this time they rushed into the decision,” Kameshki said, quoted Gulf Daily News.
Over 470 companies are being taken to court for violating the ban on midday working, which came into effect in late July.
Bahrain’s Labour Ministry said last week that companies forced 1,641 employees to work during the prohibited hours.
It said firms who defied the ban would be subject to public prosecution and fined between 50 and 300 dinars for each worker they employed during the banned hours.
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