Ban costs millions

THE two-month government ban on outdoor work during the hottest hours of the day may have cost construction firms in Bahrain millions of dinars, a leading contractor said.

Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s contractors’ committee vice-chairman Nedham Kameshki said many projects had been delayed as a result of the policy.
He said construction firms might seek compensation from the government for penalties incurred for any late delivery of projects.
Employees were forbidden from allowing work between noon to 4pm in July and August following a Cabinet decision, chaired by Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa in June.
However, Mr Kameshki believes more notice should have been given about introduction of the new rules and says the government should have asked for companies to be given a one-month extension to their project delivery deadlines.
“Everyone (contractors) is pleased it is over,” he said of the ban, which ended on Friday.
“It did not help anybody. It was one of the worst two months we have had. Our contracts have been delayed and we have a problem with our clients, investors and consultants.
“One contractor said it cost him BD30,000 a day for those four hours.
“This year we have a lot of projects where there is no alternative, our people have to finish their jobs on time and if they do not it will affect the public interest, such as road works.”
Mr Kameshki said investors put penalty clauses in contracts if the construction work is not completed on schedule.
“I think the penalty will hit many contractors, unless they get some compensation from the Labour Ministry,” he said.
Mr Kameshki said only in the last few days of August did the temperature get hot enough to consider stopping work and until then it had been a relatively mild summer.
He believes the government should follow International Labour Organisation rules that say people should stop work at 48C and over, rather than impose a daily ban.
Mr Kameshki claimed that even workers complained of the situation and said they wanted to finish their work so they could go home to rest, rather than have to leave the construction site and come back later.
“I have a lot of respect for the Labour Ministry but I think this time they rushed into the decision,” he said.
According to a report in the GDN, 472 companies were being taken to court for violating the law, which came into effect when it was published in the Official Gazzette.
The Labour Ministry said companies forced 1,641 employees to work during the banned hours. It said firms who defied the ban would be taken to the Public Prosecutor and fined between BD50 and BD300 for each worker they employed during the banned hours.