Muscat: Over 140 companies in Oman have been found to be in violation of the midday break rule, according to the Ministry of Manpower.
The law guarantees labourers should not be forced to work from 12:30pm to 3:30pm from June 1 to the end of August.
The ministry visited 1,037 companies in the Muscat governorate and 143 of them were found violating the midday break.
Violators can be fined between 100 (Dh951) to 500 Omani rials, and jailed for at least one month, according to article 118 of the Labour Law.
Rageesh Ravi, a construction worker in Wadi Kabir area of Mutrah province, told Gulf News that he takes rest from 12:30 to 3:30pm, as it is very difficult for him to work at that time.
“Its unbearable to work under such scorching sun at this time of year,” said Ravi.
More than 500,000 expatriates work in the construction fields in the country, according to the Ministry of Manpower figures.
In Muscat and most other cities in the country, temperatures hover between 40 and 45 degree Celsius.
