Working hours ‘to hit mega projects’
Productivity in the contracting sector will drop by 50 per cent if the government’s decision to stop labourers from working for four hours in the afternoon in July and August is implemented, it was claimed yesterday.
In a statement issued by the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, it said the decision was impractical and would prove to be counter-productive.
“We are totally against it and will refuse to accept it,” BCCI head of contractors’ committee Samir Nass told the GDN yesterday.
“We have had a very lengthy discussion on the whole issue and are convinced that none of the contractors were consulted before the move was thought of,” he said.
“This is going to be counter-productive, and will severely affect scores of infrastructure projects in Bahrain. The way it has been framed and is expected to be implemented is not right.
“There is an urgency in Bahrain these days to rapidly finish mega projects and these will be put off or delayed.
“The country cannot afford that. Productivity will fall by at least 50 per cent and that we can ill-afford.”
Mr Nass said they were not only concerned about their profits, but about the impact the decision would have on Bahrain.
“Bahrain should not do it this way. No other country, even hotter than Bahrain, has such rules,” he said.
“We are all concerned about our labour and do look after them. We will continue to do so. We want a fit and efficient labour force and we are concerned about them.”
Mr Nass said no one cared to look at the technical aspect of the rule before it was drafted.
“There was no consultation with anyone,” he said.
“What we want to know is how to transport the labour to their camps far away in peak traffic and get them back to the work sites in time to resume work.
“By the time they reach their accommodation, it will be past 1pm and then they should again leave by 3pm.
“They will have less than two hours of so-called rest.”
On the other hand, he said, if they are not taken to their accommodation at noon and made to rest at the site for four hours, they will be within their rights to demand overtime.
“This is not going to work out at all,” said Mr Nass.
He said all other associated work would also stop and would affect the projects overall.
“If heat is the only consideration, one should stop work for that time at refineries, smelters, shipyards, garbage dumps and power stations where people have to work indoors at temperatures in excess of 55 degrees,” said Mr Nass.
He said that the contractors’s committee has written to the Labour Ministry on these issues.
“We demand an immediate explanation on what we should do. We cannot stop work and agree to these impractical suggestions,” said Mr Nass.
The ban on work at construction and other outdoor sites from noon to 4pm in July and August was issued by Labour Minister Majeed Al Alawi on Monday.
It follows a decision taken at the Cabinet meeting on Sunday.
GDN – 29 June, 2007