Bahrain’s midday work ban came into effect on 1 July.

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Almost 140 companies working in Bahrain’s construction industry have violated the country’s ban on midday working during summer, Bahrain’s Labour Ministry has revealed.

The ministry discovered a total of 192 companies in violation of the ban since it came into effect on 1 July, with 70% of those offences taking place on construction sites in the capital, Manama.

The ban prohibits all outdoor work between midday and 4pm until August to protect the workforce from potentially fatal heat-related medical conditions.

“Inspectors recorded 192 violations in total, most of them from outside work stations in Manama area – almost 70%,” Labour Ministry Under-secretary Sabah Al Dossary told Gulf Daily News.

“The last two weeks saw 85 violations, which involved only 30 employees, compared with 398 employees during the first two weeks together.

“Compliance with the law came down marginally to 98.1% compared with 98.2% in the first week and 98.3% in the second week.

“However, we consider the percentage, so far, as something excellent.

“The violators knew that they were ignoring the law and the excuses given were similar – such as ‘emergency work’, ‘just an addition of 15 minutes’, etc.

“However, these excuses will not be considered and any minute after noon and before 4pm is a violation, which will be prosecuted.”

Al Dossary said the employees involved in the violations were called to the ministry, where they signed the necessary documents.

“These employees also knew about the work ban, but unfortunately were not in a position to disobey their employers,” he said.

Penalties for violating the work ban include fines ranging from BHD 500 ($1,325) to BHD 1,000, which is applicable to employers of domestic workers as well.

A total of 9,671 sites were inspected since the restriction was enforced.