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Night shifts will cut illness of workers, says Ajman official

AJMAN — If the night shift proposal for workers gets implemented in the country, it will help minimise heat-related illnesses among the poor labourers, according to engineer Ahmed Abdul Razaq, Assistant Director of Technical Affairs

“As a municipality official, my concern is also to make sure that all companies abide by safety regulations and conditions set by the civic body to prevent labourers from injuries and illnesses,” he said.

Razaq added that the Ajman Municipality is intensifying its campaign, targeting the contracting companies currently executing construction projects in the emirate to ensure they follow safety regulations at the sites for the security of workers as well as the public. Razaq said that the campaign will also ensure that these companies abide by the labour law on working hours which bans work by labourers during the hottest hours of the day. This is to minimise the increasing cases of heatstroke among workers.

Last year when the Ministry of Labour issued the mid-day break rule for workers across the country during July/August, all the contracting companies carrying out construction projects were found cooperating to enforce the law.

The municipality is making efforts to achieve its goal of comprehensive quality by enforcing safety measures at construction and demolition sites. Since the beginning of this month, the Inspection and Follow-up Unit of the municipality started intensifying its inspection campaigns for worker safety regulations. The inspectors who visit these companies on a daily basis provide the engineers at the site with a form to be signed by them in order to make it easier for the municipality to evaluate the safety standards of the companies.

Razaq said that the safety conditions set by the civic body include public safety control, such as installation of warning and instruction signboards on the site and protection fences. The municipality has made it mandatory on the companies to maintain a first aid closet, in addition to providing training to employees to handle first aid in case of accidents, cleanliness of the site, control of dust pollution, smoke and spraying liquids, as well as proper lighting on the construction sites.

The inspectors, when they visit the sites, make sure all workers are wearing safety belts, glasses, gloves and helmets. In addition, they also ensure that all the equipment used in construction projects are safe, such as scaffolding, cranes and elevators. He pointed out that recently, construction work of a new tower in the Ajman Corniche was stopped by the municipality, as the contracting and consultancy companies were not abiding by safety and security procedures that protect labourers at the site.

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