EVERY year as the summer heat peaks, the Labor Ministry issues a directive to all companies and institutions banning workers from working under the heat of the sun. The Ministry of Labor on June enforced the regulation preventing laborers from working directly under the sun from 12 noon to 3 p.m. from June 15 until Sept. 15. Of course the regulation excluded oil and gas companies as well as emergency maintenance workers provided that they are protected with proper equipment from the sun's heat. The regulation is noble because it protects human beings from the deadly sun. We all know how dangerous it is to walk under the sun in the blazing heat for 15 minutes during the banned time, so just imagine then how the poor workers must feel when working for hours in the intense heat. What is upsetting is that there are some institutions that see these workers only as objects and violate the regulation with impunity and force their workers to work outside even during the time when work is banned. In the recent campaign by the ministry against violators, it was discovered that there were many institutions that were violating this regulation. There were many companies who forced their workers to work under the sun during the banned hours. The ministry summoned company managers for investigation and they faced punishment of fines that do not go below SR3,000 and do not exceed SR10,000. The company also faced closure for 30 days. The beauty this year is that the ministry received many tips from concerned citizens and residents about the whereabouts of companies violating the regulation. The ministry did specify a number to report such violators (19911) and urged citizens to call whenever they detect these violations. The campaign and the resulting action by concerned citizens and residents are all very good. But what bothered me is that some companies were against the banning decision claiming that it will delay their work. Such people are thinking of making money only with the safety of people being the least of their concerns. What they care about is making more and more money. For them, the poorly paid workers are nothing but objects. In my opinion, the penalties against these companies are not stiff enough because for some companies, the amount of fine is not even a fraction of a percentage of what they have, meaning they can afford repeating the violation again and again. As for shutting down the company for 30 days, I do not think it can be enforced on some of the companies working on major construction projects in the city, because that will delay the completion of the project on time. I wish we can be creative when it comes to determining the appropriate punishment for such violators. One such penalty that comes to mind is, in my opinion, appropriate. I suggest that the Labor Ministry force the top managers and company owners to work, no just stand under the sun and its searing heat for 30 minutes without wearing any safety hats or gear just to feel what it is like to work during that time. The Labor Ministry needs to do more and send more teams on the field because, and I am speaking about Jeddah here, there are many workers who are working under the sun's heat, especially the cleaning workers. If companies are worried about completing their project on time, then they can add three more hours at night. This way the project will be sure to meet their deadlines on time and the safety of the workers are also ensured. The effort by good doers who are reporting violations to the ministry, or are giving food and water to workers on the streets is highly appreciated. It only shows that we still have good people who treat the underpaid laborer humanely. We have to remember that these people left their country to earn money here and support their families back home. What if they suffered from a severe injury because of the heat of the sun here? What if they suffered a sunstroke? What good are they then to their companies or their families back home? Instead of the man supporting his family, he will become a burden on them. Islam did not teach us to treat people this way. I conclude here with an example of what happened to a relative of mine last year when he was walking under the sun's scorching heat in Madinah on his way to the Prophet's Mosque. It was over 45 degrees Celsius at that time and the little hat that he had on his head did not protect him from the heat. He suffered from a sunstroke and fell to the ground. People rushed him to a hospital but it was too late and he was pronounced dead shortly on arrival to the hospital. As you can see, the sun here is not a joke. The writer can be reached at [email protected] Twitter: @anajeddawi—eng
