"Gulf States: Protect Workers from Extreme Heat" 1 June 2025.

Gulf Cooperation Council countries are exposing migrant workers to yet another deadly summer of extreme heat conditions without adequate protection...“Because Gulf states are dragging their feet on evidence-based labor protections, migrant workers are unnecessarily dying, experiencing kidney failure, and suffering from other chronic illnesses.”...

Calendar-based bans are insufficient as extreme heat occurs outside the hours or months when the ban is in effect. A study found that the highest heat intensity for workers in Saudi Arabia was from 9 a.m. to noon, while the ban is in effect between noon and 3 p.m., and that workers employed by companies complying with the work ban still experienced high heat exposure. Another study, in Kuwait, found a substantial increase in the risk of occupational injuries associated with extremely hot temperatures, despite the ban...

...His employer deducted wages if workers were caught resting during work hours and two days’ wages for every workday missed...A Saudi-based worker said he had three nosebleeds in the summer of 2024, “My nose bled more this year than previous years,” he said. “Once you go to a shaded area and rest, the bleeding stops. When it bleeds too much, you cannot work.”...

...Problems in worker accommodations include long wait times to use kitchens and bathrooms, the absence of cold water for a shower, and delayed company responses to repair broken air conditioning in crowded migrant worker rooms...

Human Rights Watch has written to all six Gulf states about their heat protection plans. The UAE emphasized the high compliance of the midday work ban by companies and penalties for non-compliance without addressing queries regarding strengthening the policy itself. The other countries did not provide substantive responses...

...