KUWAIT: The Public Authority of Manpower said on Thursday that an annual ban on working under the sun for companies with outdoor sites will start on June 1 and continue for three months. The ban, which was first introduced in 2015, prohibits working under the sun from 11 in the morning until 4 in the evening daily until the end of August.

The ban is aimed at protecting workers from the serious impact of the scorching heat of the sun in summer, when the mercury soars above 50 degrees Celsius. Acting director of the Authority Marzouq Al-Otaibi said in a statement on the authority’s X account that special teams from the authority will visit worksites to ensure that the decision is implemented in full.

He said that those teams will take necessary legal actions against violators after alerting them to the violations. Otaibi said the decision aims to provide protection to workers who toil under harsh climatic conditions in the summer, adding that it also aims at regulating work and not cutting working hours. He said the implementation of the ban in the past several years was well received by many companies in Kuwait. In addition, it complies with Kuwait’s commitment to meet international labor standards. Otaibi said people can contact the Authority on 24936192 to inform of any violation.

Meanwhile, power consumption in Kuwait almost touched the critical level of 16,000 MW as the temperature soared to just below 50 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country. The ministry of electricity and water’s consumption gauge showed consumption reached 15,928 MW as temperatures hit 48 degrees in Jahra, 47 C at the Airport and 42 C in Kuwait City. The met department is forecasting a further rise in temperature on Friday. Kuwait, with limited production capacity, is scheduled to start on Saturday receiving 500 MW of electricity daily from the GCC power grid for the duration of summer.