"More than 270 violations of Qatar summer working law meant to protect labourers from heat", 25 Jul 2022

A law meant to protect people in Qatar from working outside in scorching summer temperatures has been broken hundreds of times by employers in the past few weeks.

Ministry of Labour figures seen byThe Independent reveal there have been 276 violations of the Summer Working Hours directive – which should prevent anyone from working outside between the hours of 10am and 3.30pm from 1 June until 15 September – since the annual law came into force at the beginning of last month.

The number of violations recorded covers the period up to 20 July.

More than two-thirds of the violations were in the construction industry, said officials. There have also been concerns over the level of heat exposure endured by other workers, including those delivering food and security guards.

It is believed that the final total of violations will exceed last year’s figure of 342...

A Qatari official told The Independent that the number of reported violations this year indicated that the directive was being strongly applied by the government.