Construction workers also get six-hour work day in Labour Ministry’s new set of directives

Tribune News NetworkDohaThe Ministry of Administrative Development Labour and Social Affairs on Thursday issued a set of instructions to private companies concerning employees’ work timings, safety and accommodation as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country.In the directives, the ministry asked private companies to restrict work hours to six hours a day, including those of the construction workers, until further notice.The companies are also required to ensure that no more than four employees are in one room at a time in the workplace and restrict all personal meetings and internal movements. They have to suspend all training activities as well and ensure that the staff enter and exit offices or worksites one by one and not in a group.Employers should also ensure only a limited number of staff use common spaces such as shared dining areas and changing rooms at a time. As per the ministry’s directives, companies are also responsible for avoiding assemblies in workplace and at staff accommodations and ensure occupational safety measures include protection from coronavirus.Body temperature readings of all employees in workplace and reporting of symptoms related to respiratory ailments among them are a must.Private firms are also required to ensure that their staff wash their hands often with soap or sterilise them with sanitisers and follow cough and sneeze etiquettes.The ministry has directed companies to routinely clean all frequently-touched surfaces in the workplace with prescribed disinfectants and provide disposable wipes so that commonly used surfaces such as doorknobs, keyboards, remote controls and desks can be wiped down by employees before each use.The Ministry's guidance took into account the psychological aspect of workers in this aspect, as it stressed the need for companies to take into consideration the impact on the mental health of workers such as concern about job security and income, or concern about the risk of contracting the Corona virus, and thinking about the situation of family members in their countries of origin.The Ministry also directed the necessity of providing psychological and social support to employees infected with the virus after recovery, and also working to check the temperature of workers before boarding buses to move to the place of work and return, isolate any worker whose body temperature is high and report through the Ministry of Public Health hotline on the number 16000.The Ministry of Development's directives also confirmed to companies to determine the maximum number of workers who ride buses not to exceed 50 of the total number of chairs in the bus, and to make sure to use masks and provide hand sanitizers in the workplace, and not to gather inside the workplace and leave the safe distance between the worker at all times While performing the work, and not neglecting other safety and health risks in the workplace.