Ramadan and fasting workers By Muna Al Fuzai #Kuwait #q8 Ramadan Mubarak everyone! Ramadan has just started in the middle of summer, and for those who fast, the day is long and they will surely feel thirsty. But this article is not about those who fast while sitting in their offices with 24-hour air-conditioning. I’m more concerned about workers who work under the sun. They are the ones who suffer the most. I wanted to write something today informing them on a few Ramadan legal issues. As you all know, summers here are relentlessly long, with dust storms in June and July and humidity in August with temperatures not less than 50 C. The heat is searing and exposure to direct sunlight can cause sunstroke and sunburn. Without enough liquids to hydrate the body, it can be damaging. I am sure you have all noticed that working hours decrease in Ramadan. This was not a decision by the bosses who sit in their cold offices from their good hearts. The working hours have to decrease during Ramadan according to Kuwait’s labor law (for the private sector). “Working hours during the month of Ramadan shall be equal to 36 hours per week,” it says. The law also stresses that it is forbidden to make workers work more than 48 hours per week or 8 hours a day, except in jobs that are specified in this law including emergency services. This means workers get a discount of two hours. I personally think that no worker should be forced to work under the sun and in this heat during the whole month of Ramadan and should be given the option to work after iftar. He can work 6 hours from say 9 pm to 2 am when the heat is less and he doesn’t have to suffer from the sun or thirst. We need to focus on the fact that the law is rigid and not easy when it comes to the duty of the workers, but there has to be some supervision over companies who disregard regulations and laws. It is about the safety and life of poor workers who barely make their living here and is not about power. Those bosses who run the show need higher powers to make them understand that the decrees of working hours and working at night is not their choice but a law made to control the misuse of power against workers. I wish everyone happy Ramadan with an advice for fasting workers – try to avoid exposure to the sun. It is your right by law.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 01:40:56 +0000
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