50.degree temp. and poor labours

OF COURSE THEY ARE NOT TELLING THEM TO DRINK WATER OR TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES, I NOTICED AS SOON AS I GOT HERE THIS IS A FORM OF MODERN DAY SLAVERY. HELL MOST PEOPLE HERE DONT EVEN CONSIDER THEM PEOPLE. ITS VERY SAD

I go as I came. In Peace!!

"So I take it that you take a voluntary pay cut for wasting your time browsing on QL during working hours..."

I am paid to produce results. My Boss doesn't care about my time management. All he needs to see his end results in timely manner.

I was rewared with bonuses for that :)

"Do you think Labourers should be paid for working overtime?"

The workerse who works more than 8 hours gets overtime in Qatar

from june 15 to august 31.....

i hope the MEN will (REALLY) have the imposed "afternoon break" from working under the sun for at least 3 and a half hours....

including the contractors and the foremen and the engineers on site of course, how can we ferget them...

verisim, way to go!!!!

there is no such thing as FAKE tears inside of me..last i looked...only the alligators have BIG fake tears... who ever said something about tears eh..

QL at work... restricted for a specific contractor...

***bubbly ... sighs***

Do you think Labourers should be paid for working overtime?

So I take it that you take a voluntary pay cut for wasting your time browsing on QL during working hours...

Why you want to buy? It is inside of you ever since you were born.

fake tears?? where do we buy those???? have to get a lot of those...

who is crying???? where?? who???

Fake Tears. Let the Labourers earn their living and send money back to their homes. No worker is agreed to deduct his salary for taking rest during working hours.

and We are not paying them to sleep during working hours.

and verisim, am sure yer COMPASSION is a BIG thing here in the unreal world and in the REAL world as mine is....

COMPASSION IN ACTION! and ver, as you have said, we dont need to put up in a banner what we are doing about that

that's one of the nicer things I've been called today...

I tend to disagree with a lot of people about how Qatar doesn't do a good job in enforcing the laws with spot checks and stuff... I think its okay...

But in matters of compensation for instance, its difficult to enforce labour laws given that there is no taxation (many contractors are Qatari owned companies that don't have to pay any taxes) and they can get away with murder on paper

I heard the Dubai Government is making it mandatory that salaries be credited to the employee's bank accounts, that would make a difference

Also I believe worker living and working conditions are monitored by the Rights Commission... I wonder what their capabilities are to monitor these on a proactive basis... the situation would improve if there were random checks...

Please correct me though if my understanding is wrong...

ash, NOW WE"RE TALKING..actually...there's another thread about how we can help them right??..simple things that may mean a lot to them.... and i think speed is on it???

ahhh compassion at last!! verisim, WTG!!!!

Let me tell you that even Saddam Hussein made sure

nobody worked outside in the summer from 10 am until 6 pm. And he was supposed to be a cruel dictator. So what does that say for us here in Qatar ?

Speed bhai ?????

Can we the QLVG do something for this people ??

Any suggestions gentlemen and beautiful ladies ????

___________________________________________

Reality is a Illusion Caused Due to Deficiency of Alcohol

verisim, someone made me a funny poem, being an "on line human rights activist" is that term for us, having said those comments?? hahahahaha

fine... don't hijack the thread ;-) LOL

I don't need to convince you or anyone else (except the Labour Dept., the Municipality and the Human Rights Commission) on what I do for my employees

and you don't get to decide who will or will not be an online Human Rights Activist...

verisim.... hello.... howdy

fresh water in qatar is just like boiling water.

they should provide chilled water

Don't be a keyboard HR activitis. Do something if you can.

Your compassion stands for nothing in the real world.

hmmm.. welcome to Qatar . . .

___________________________________________

Reality is a Illusion Caused Due to Deficiency of Alcohol

But I've been to the Industrial Area and the story isn't very merry for some...

AND I know many who are treated pretty well too...

ver, you didn't understand what I was saying. I'm sure some/many laborers are mistreated by their employers, but people here seem to imply that ALL of them are.

We don't have stats on that.

what the companies have to provide

but a few people on this thread can provide a lot more compassion...

So you mean to say that as long as it is better than back home, then it's fine...?

let's say a woman gets hits badly abused by her husband...

Does that mean that when she steps out of the house, any man can hit her and then rationalize that... "HEY!! ITS BETTER THAN BACK HOME RIGHT?"

So what do you want companies to provide the laborers?

I think many of them are quite happy that they're making a living here. It's much better than back home.

So you mean to say that the choice they made to come here entitles them to be exploited in any manner?

If the terms are unfavourable to the Labourers, They have the choice not to come here in the 1st place.

Ha Ha Ha Intenational Community/Media. Don't you know what happened to the Gulf Times Foreign Corrospondent recently :)

They are suppose to change their sked with a 11 to 3 break I guess..

______________________________________________

- Listen to Many...Speak to a Few -

Lusitano, Yes your absolutely correct. Nothing will not change here until the authorities take this issue to heart. There are no Qatari working in the heat it is mostly poor Indians and other nationals of the subcontinent.

-----------------

HE WHO DARES WINS

well said Lusitano

______________________________________________

- Listen to Many...Speak to a Few -

As most of us have been witnessing for the past few years, unfortunately there is no point discussing the matter here :(

We will never be able to beat the greediness that governs the labor law here in Qatar.

The only ones that can really change and improve the situation are the Qatari Authorities.

Until now, and probably for many more years to come, the Qatari system and authorities facilitate and allow greed to govern over humanity!

Only a solid, mature and justice labor law as well as its full enforcement would stop/reduce the abuses we all witness here every day!

This won't happen until the International community/media will expose the problem in a way that it will embarrass the local government, as they appear to only act and react when they sense they will be in the spot light, when they can show off to the world!

Until then, the labor exploitation will sadly flourish under the Qatari summer heat!

telling us here workers are issued healthcards is i think a somewhat a farce, from my firsthand experiences some workers don't have healthcards when they come for any treatment in HMC hospitals, i've been in two of these facilities and a lot of laborers don't have healthcards which in a way can be a big help especially when medicines are given to them, and i hope you know what you're talking about lucky.

I am speechless reading the foregoing debate...

His handle says it all, his LUCKY.... but I wish he can put himself in the labourers'shoes.... then he would be thankful there is such a person as Bubbly...

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Spent third of my life Away From Home

Your comments add up to how Contractors are pushed against the wall and therefore they have every right to push their employees/labourers against the wall... that's the worst possible argument I've ever heard...

If there are terms unfavourable to Contractor's, no one is forcing them to accept them... have the ethics to value your employees health and safety over sheer greed...

Unscrupulous contractor's are the root cause of labour exploitation in Qatar and with people like Luciano around, its not hard to see why...

You talk as if giving a person sick leave is the most gracious thing ever... you are sickening... I pity all those who have to work under you...

bleu thank you for the clarification...

i am done with my share on the part of the laborers thing...

and mine's not hearsay, those are first hand experiences...

bubbly, I meant that many people on QL, base their ideas on hearsay....

The temperature could go above the magic number 50.

Most of the laborers are mistreated.

But:

The government would announce temperatures above 50.

Some laborers are not mistreated.

that you want the best for these men...

Yes we want to reap the benifits of our investment on them. one day lost due to sickness is a great loss for the company so we want them in full fitness during working time to get the maximum output.

"i hope YOU do yer job well too,"

Yes I do.

' add to that, give a little extra to yer men...you don't need to get paid for that!'

That will be taken care by the company at their best by providing health care as I mentioned before.

uuhhh PS

emergency treatment is covered by the state...

of course they cover it, they always do, HMC does...non emergencies are TURNED into emergencies by concerned medical staff just so these men could get proper treatment with no stress on their accounts as the companies are not always there for them....

and uhhmm, how many % of the men in a company have HEALTH CARDS much more insurance??? 5 in 100? more? less?

they can't even present a photocopy of their passports and QID as most of them don't have qids(which is against Qatar rules)... and u tell me they have healthcards and insurances?

ciao, kind sir lucky...on the other hand, i give you the benefit of the doubt... that you want the best for these men... coz u at least made a step in defending what you represent... maybe somewhere down the line, a big thing or two ran into something and went erratic, hence the inadequacies...

ciao...

i know my duties lucky...no need to remind of it...

of course i am paid for it...

.

but not when, the staff in here ask around for money so the poor men can buy their medicines... not when we use our personal resources to help them...

but of course i'd stop there,no need to tell you that...

cause then u'd take it as a brag, nothing right will ever come out of me for you...

the system is intact..yep, only the implementaion is not...

i hope YOU do yer job well too, add to that, give a little extra to yer men...you don't need to get paid for that!

as i've said, it is now futile . . .

For emergency treatment. cost is zero. cost is absorbed by the state.

treatment and hospitalization of the workers??? well, tell me...

They are issued with HMC health cards for any treatment needed and the cost is covered with insurence.

"can we blame it on the "system" then"

System is in place. Workmen compensation policy is compulsory for any construction company undertaking projects in qatar.

at least at the end of the day, we can go home and have a sense of fulfillment that we were able to "extend a hand"

That is your duty. you are paid for it.

If only those damn labourers would shut up and work their ass off right!! Now they want emergency health care? curses!!... what next?... proper housing? what is this world coming to???

hi tanya,

can u tell me if the website of qatarliving is working

am trying to post an item but once i press post a classified, it gives me empty page

lucky, AHA!!!! see what i mean, caught by yer own words..

who pays for the treatment and hospitalization of the workers??? well, tell me...

if i am going to list one by one all of the things that happen here due to the fact that companies( not all ), some companies promise to reimburse hospital expense of patients and it turns out some do, some don't, some gets delayed....

and i could go on and on and on...

but futile, cause it falls on deaf ears and i know lucky that it's not entirely "yer" (coy, contractors) fault...

can we blame it on the "system" then? I DUNNO..

at least at the end of the day, we can go home and have a sense of fulfillment that we were able to "extend a hand" to THE MEN THAT TOILS THE HARDEST IN THIS COUNTRY. . . (imo)

a bucket of sugar and salt on their sites - Already available + Stadby Ambulance + Full Time Doctor + Full Time Nurse + on site medical facility. what else you want?

a bucket of sugar and salt on their sites have drowned many a contracting companies in deep debt

which treatments lucky???

the water with added salt????

dear me...

Who is going to pay for all those above average treatments?

exactly verisim, salt in water is enough..and proper nutrition...and reiteration of health teachings...

pocari sweat does taste weird...i know what u mean

lucky, i know all of it...i work for HMC...and i CARE for these people who have TB and meningitis...and a lot of nurses here who were negative for TB when they came are now positive for that...including me...

so, cease asking me WHY...

and they go back to their normal lives???

i dunno about that...

mentioning the epidemic thing... i was not against HMC...because i am one with HMC...i care for these men, i feel their pain, their loneliness, i cry for them, and i cry with them when their friend couldn't make it, i lose by their lost...

my point is, when these men get a better treatment from the companies they work in, who knows what more they can bring to this country...

I tried buying a drink with electrolytes when I was starting to feel dehydrated the other day...

pocari sweat made me want to puke

and gatorade was all right but it cost 7 QAR and you can't find it any where...

point being that they are not affordable or accessible

However, companies could hand around electrolytes that come in sachets, its an easy thing to do... and it can't be all that expensive, its just sugar and salt mixed together with some flavour added...

"HMC apparently can't call it an epidemic yet as the numbers doesn't meet(YET) the required # for it to be called that..."

Do you know how much Dr. Abdul Lattif (Director of HMC and his team doing for these people. Do you know how many labourers are getting treatment for TB in HMC?

Do you know only 2 of the TB patients were sent back to their countries? Do you know all the rest are getting treatment and slowly coming back to their normal life here again

verisim, the reason they drink pepsi is because the water tastes "different" accdg to them...

men who work under the sun sweat a lot you are right, and with sweat you take away the body's salt and some "electrolytes" that help to control fluid levels in the body, drinking too much water doesnt help cause you are depleting the body more of salt.

adding 1 tsp of salt in a liter of water helps, if not any sport drinks...but of course who can afford that..

considering that these labourers are sweating as well as doing hard physical labour, I think the sugar in the drinks would actually do them some amount of good... it would give an instant energy boost... as long as they are drinking water on the side, which I am sure they are bcos they simply couldn't afford to drink pepsi all the time... so the occasional quick sugar fix couldn't be such a bad thing...

airconditioned over all??? i like that lucky??? hehehe

UKeng, maybe the laborers can't give the MAXIMUM of what they can give because of...

poor housing conditions - when it gets hot, it is hell in there...

"edible" foods, not sure if u can even call it nutritious

and edible for um contractors

pitiful living conditions - 10 people cramped in small cabins, AHA! people who have infectious and communicable diseases SPREAD every virus and infection they have to everyone... free for all...

and for this thing, health wise....do the contractors, the companies and this country ever think that when these men get sick...say an epidemic comes out that the whole of Qatar gets affected???

we have a lot of meningitis and respiratory cases that are communicable... and HMC apparently can't call it an epidemic yet as the numbers doesn't meet(YET) the required # for it to be called that...

but then, you'd tell me. that's the work of the ministry of Health...

the point here lucky is the safety measures for employees. employers shoud be fair to all regarding health and saftey measures...

If the project doesn't make profit no Bonus for all of us. so work hard get more.

Labourers are not the only ones to work unser the sun. There are Project Managers, Site supervisors still have to work under the sun to make sure the construction going on as scheduled. PM doesn't wear an air-conditioned overall when they go to the site.

"they are paid to work....paid what????? half of what they were told they would have???"

Any proof? Ever work in a construction co.?

So many Humantarians are here. why don't you complain to HRW?

Employers should take into consideration the safety measures for their employees. In the first place, these labourers are the blood of each company. Without their hands to do these very difficult jobs, nothing will get accomplished..

The Contractors sends us letter that due to Rain, Sand Storm or Hot Weather they had suspended the work.

This never gets compensated here, and an average Contractor will always fall behind. So they have no choice but to make these poor buggers mostly from Nepal and India work during the incliment weather.

-----------------

HE WHO DARES WINS

sympathy for the contractors....

would they in turn give out EMPATHY for these men....

ok lucky, i sympathize with you...

and then what??

Why single out the contractors?? The owners still push for the projects to be finished on time, even when the owner is the government. No relaxation of liquidated damages. Contractors are caught in the middle. A law is passed that cannot be implemented without concessions from all the players.

_______________________________________________________

"A Wise Man knows what he does not know!"

oohhh an answer to everything huh...

precautions, and HMC medical units on standby...

yeah when the poor men can no longer work because of cramps and pain, when they are already so sick and severely dehydrated, yeah the ems brings them in...

as i've said i see them up close and personal, and we only see what...0.00035% of the total people who are sick...what becomes of the rest???

they are paid to work....paid what????? half of what they were told they would have???

I feel so horrible, when I have to send letters to Contractors advising them that since they are late in delivering their project on time we shall be be invoking the liquidated damages clause.

So on one hand we want the labourers to have time off during the summer hot months, but rarely does this time off gets reflected in the revised programme to deliver the project on time.

-----------------

HE WHO DARES WINS

deadlines? at the expense of other people???

People are paid to work.

people are getting sick and dying.....due to heat strokes and heat exhaustion....

Precautions have been placed in for any eventuality. HMC special Medics Unit is standby.

what about the word CONSIDERATION....

Considerations in place. 11.00am - 03.00pm off work.

sympathy for poor contractors????

Have a lot of them otherwise so many people are jobless.

deadlines? at the expense of other people???

people are getting sick and dying.....due to heat strokes and heat exhaustion....

what about the word CONSIDERATION....

sympathy for poor contractors????

Blimey, that's ridiculous... (as UKeng would say)

50 degrees or not, working under the sun in qatar during summer is excruciating! just try walking for 3 minutes outside

And the restriction is from working under direct sun from 11:30 until 15:00

_______________________________________________________

"A Wise Man knows what he does not know!"

The current temperature at Doha Airport is 42 degrees C.

_______________________________________________________

"A Wise Man knows what he does not know!"

Poor contractors have to meet deadlines as well. Nobody is going to absorb penalties (Liquidated Damages)for them.

Where are your symphathy for poor contractors?

Poor labourers from the subcontinent

-----------------

HE WHO DARES WINS

bleu, what is hearsay??? how hot Qatar is or the laborer's pathetic condition??

am very sure that Qatar has all the blah blahs needed in the labour code, the thing is?....are the companies following these rules?

the scorching months are coming... 43 or 50 or however hot it could get, these men are forced to toil under the sun...without PROPER FOOD AND POTABLE WATER...

yours truly see them everyday..up close and personal...

knowing all their hardships and pain, there is nothing i can do... a touch and a smile would suffice, for now...

i guess some employers "doesn't know" about it yet.. coz i still see some of them working..

This month it began..

Last year the companies where forced to keep a constant supply of fresh water to drink for the laborers but it was not compulsory to stop working for this long.. just at the peak noon hour they were to go have their "lunch' breaks..

This year they are not allowed to work from 11 - 15..

WYSIWYG

My mistake.. until 15:00

WYSIWYG

They should have water available, maybe they do, but prefer the soft-drinks.

44 °C at Al-Udeid Airport Do you think the American Base would lie for us???? They are usually consistent temperatures between Doha and Al-Udeid.

If it went over 50, they would all announce it.

People here on QL like to jump to conclusions... Based on Hearsay.

Xena, it could have been over 50, but i didn't see that.

loulsy, since when did that happen? last year i have seen a lot of laboreres working nonstop doing diggings on the side of the roads, not just on the roads actually.

it is 11 to 1500 hours

-----------------

HE WHO DARES WINS

I undersatnd that the law for construction workers only applies to those who are working directly under the sun, those working in a shaded area do not get time off during the summer period.

Drinking water and shade should be provided to all labourers as part of the H&S and welfare.

-----------------

HE WHO DARES WINS

During noon hours from aroun 11 - 14 labourers are not allowed to work.. and police cars passing by if they see workers being put the work the company is being penalized.

Instead the hours of rest during when the sun is at its peak is compensated by laternoon - evening work.

WYSIWYG

the companies are responsible for safety n health. The workers suppose to have cold water around them while working....but at times either the safety officer is not bothererd or present there to see them or the workers themselves do not consider safety regulations.....its up to each of us to think of safe working...the labours no matter how much u tell they do not follow and coz hazzards.. but i really pity them how they with stand this heat outside

Life is a play with out a script ...

Why Gypsy sound so correct!!!

Peace.

UAE already changed the working hours of the laborers..what is Qatar Waiting for? Are they waiting for Mercury to reach 60??

Its really buring outside...

They would never confirm that it's over 50 degrees, that means people aren't allowed to work outside and that would never ever happen.

Point is, cool fresh clean drinking water should be provided....

Strange, and here I thought it was confirmed by the weather bureau that it was indeed over 50 degrees on Wednesday....

"if you don't like the heat... get out of the kitchen... but stop trying to fan the flames before you leave... it will burn you on the a** as you go through the doorway...." ME

visit www.qaws.org

I don't think it was 50, it's still May. A car's thermometer isn't an accurate measure of the temperature outside.

yes blue last friday and saturday between 11.am 1pm the temp. was 50

50 degree?? It's noon and it's :

43 °C at Doha Airport

44 °C at Al-Udeid Airport

35 °C at Manama Airport

So anywhere between these places should be between these temperatures.

http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/41170.html

the cluase says:

B) The First Party undertakes to supply the Second Party with cold fresh drinking water.

...CHO RAH MO...

tanya shall or should .............makes a lot difference.

Aana free, jaana free,

Pakde gaye tho khana free.

what more pa kaya sa darating na July and August...

You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving!!!

........tsk! tsk! tsk! Ganun pala nangyari sa miting ng mga Heneral!!!!!!

"Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship"

i think it is is stated in 1 clause in the labour contract that the company shall provide fresh drinking water...

...CHO RAH MO...