When the Ministry of Labour delivered the terms and conditions of this year’s ban on midday working at the beginning of June, it made it clear that it was finally going to get tough with those who flouted the regulations.
There were three main strands to the rules and regulations. Any company found guilty of having workers on site between the banned hours of 12.30pm and 3pm would have their applications for new labourers ignored, they would be fined anything up to US $8,000 (AED 30,000), while any irresponsible company, owner or director would be named and shamed.
But are we not experiencing a case of déjà vu? Did the ministry not make the same pledge to name and shame and fine 12 months ago?
Official statistics revealed that more than 100 companies were caught flouting the then four-hour break, but how many saw their good name blackened or their pockets lightened?
However, this year there will be no escape.
Minister of Labour, Ali Abdullah Al Kaabi, has actually confirmed when companies will be named and shamed in the press — and that, we were reliably informed last Monday, was due to be by the end of the week.
“I have the list, we are ready to publish and we will publish before the weekend,” he admits. “We intend using the full force of the press to punish these companies.
“We said we will name and shame them as a means of upholding the ministerial decision 410 [which bans labourers from working in the midday sun], and we will.”
Al Kaabi confirmed that until the end of August when the ban officially ends, daily newspapers will receive regular lists of offending companies via e-mail.
Qassim Mohammed Jameel, the head of labour inspection at the Ministry of Labour, confirmed that more than 70 companies have already been registered as violators in Abu Dhabi since the ban came into force.
And Abdullah Bin Suloom, the ministry’s head of investigation, revealed that 55 of the 262 companies that had been inspected in the northern emirates before CW went to press were guilty of breaking the midday break rule, of which less than half were Dubai-based.
“We have photographic proof of all the violations that have taken place so far, and those companies will be penalised,” says Suloom.“Most of the violating firms are small and some are subcontractors, especially in Ajman.”
The tough stance is to be welcomed, especially as Jameel — as recently as last weekend —suggested that the names will only be published in print and on the ministry’s noticeboards if a violation is repeated for the third time.
By sticking with its three strikes before you are out stance, the ministry would have wasted a great opportunity to lay down the letter of the law right from the start.
And what if the first and/or second violation had resulted in a labourer dying on site due to scorching temperatures?
Under the terms of this year’s midday ban, the Ministry of Labour also pledged that any rule breakers would face a fine of up to $2,700 (AED 10,000) for their first offence, the amount doubling for a second and trebling to more than $8,000 for a third offence.
Although the timetable for the naming and shaming of firms is now known, there is no information as to when the first set of financial penalties will be administered and whether or not the amounts will be made public.
Al Kaabi also said last Sunday that although the threat of fines was in place in 2005, exemptions were given to a number of companies.
The law abiding side of the construction industry will be hoping that this is not repeated 12 months on, but with the identity of the sector’s bad boys already in print, there will be no excuses for not hitting them where it hurts this time.
Al Kaabi is confident that this year’s no tolerance stance shows the government’s desire to protect the labourers who are responsible for constructing the developments that are helping to put Dubai on the map.
The clamping down on the poor performers, so says the ministry, means that the image of the UAE as far as working conditions for site workers is concerned and the way the industry is perceived across the globe, will also be seen in a better light. After all, the construction sector has had its fair share of bad press since the turn of the year.
Last year, the Ministry of Labour made plenty of promises, and while the intentions were good, there was very little action to back it up.
Forward wind 12 months and the indications are that this year, the government clearly means business. No longer will the construction industry’s rule breakers be able to hide.
This weekend’s newspapers should be an interesting read for some contractors.
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