MoL hands out midday break awareness leaflets

The Ministry of Labour has started distributing newsletters and leaflets among workers in five languages to educate them about the midday break and labour rules.

The leaflets also elaborate on ways to prevent sun stroke and measures to be taken in case of any incident at the site.

The newsletters will be available in five languages — Arabic, English, Urdu, Bangla and Hindi — which covers most residents in the country.

The MoL’s inspection department also published the fourth issue of the guideline bulletin for labourers in the country.

The guidelines are published as part of an awareness programme carried out by the ministry to educate workers belonging to all sectors about labour laws and procedures.

The guidelines focus on the importance of following health and safety standards in order to raise the level of knowledge of the country’s laws.

Such guidelines will reflect positively on their behaviour and will help achieve stability in the labour market, a statement from
the ministry said.

The official decision of midday break came into force across the country from June 15 and will continue until September 15.

The rule will ensure that workers at construction sites get a two-and-a-half hour break everyday between 12.30pm and 3pm.

The bulletin defined the laws of the country through a simple explanation and a short story about cases of fatigue and tips on how to deal with sun strokes as well as injured people, if any incident occurs at the work site.

MoL will distribute the newsletters to worker’s care units in the country. Such units are specialised in handling workers’ rights, receiving inquiries and complaints from them and responding to them.

The ministry also urged workers to call the toll free number 800665, to check any rules with inspectors of the labour ministry.

Workers have been told to make sure that water is available at the work site.

They should also be aware of ways to prevent sunstroke and help impart treatment to those affected.

They have also been advised to avoid direct exposure to sunlight and drink plenty of water to get rid of any heat related ailments.

anwar@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE