Working conditions for some categories of employees, especially those with outdoor duties, have become quite challenging as the mercury levels soar, it is learnt.
Workers who deliver food, groceries and other items on motorbikes and cycles, car cleaners operating in open parking areas and fuel station attendants, particularly those who work during the day, complain of heat exhaustion.
“Though I am fully covered by my clothes and this thick helmet, the heat still penetrates my skin and it is really very hard to bear,” said a Nepali expatriate who works as a service crew member and delivery boy for an eatery chain in Doha. He, though, acknowledged that the summer outdoor working hours announced recently by the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs was a big relief for workers like him.
The decision, which follows the implementation of Ministerial Decision No 16 of 2007, says work done in open areas should not be longer than five hours in the morning and must stop from 11.30am-3pm, it was reported recently. The summer outdoor working hours will continue until August 31. Employers are required to set a working hours timetable in accordance with the decision. The timetable should be visible to all workers and visiting labour inspectors.
The eatery worker hopes his employer will provide the employees with extra uniforms, or at least with extra towels, which they can use to prevent being ill in the sweltering conditions. Another Nepali expatriate, who works as a car cleaner, said temperatures in the past few days have been too high to bear as he washed vehicles parked in the open outside a hypermarket or in shaded areas.
“I recently got sick and had to see a doctor. He advised me to drink plenty of water and avoid being exposed to direct sunlight for a long time,” he added. “I heard labourers use ‘cooling’ hats on site, I hope we can have it as well.”
“But I’m still thankful that I have a job and this overall uniform, which protects me from the sun’s heat. Probably I am not used to this kind of temperature because it is cold in Nepal,” he said, adding that high humidity is another issue. While lauding the initiative on outdoor working hours, some expatriates said employers should take the necessary steps to protect workers from the heat even beyond the 11.30am-3pm work stoppage period. This is because conditions are often scorching even beyond these timings, they point out.
A rider suggested that employers could opt for buy small cars instead of motorcycles for deliverymen, noting that these vehicles can be used even during the work stoppage period. “Both the employee and employer benefit in such a case as driving a car is safer, and can be used any time,” he said.
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