MLSD Minister confirms that occupational health and safety at work sites is one of the most important aspects of community safety
30-05-2020
His Excellency the Minister of Labour and Social Development, Mr. Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, has stressed the importance of employers intensifying their preventive efforts and precautionary measures to protect workers, by adhering to social distancing standards in workplaces and in workers’ accommodation, following all instructions issued by the Ministry of Health and the relevant authorities, and avoiding complacency during this exceptional period, to help limit the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). This comes in implementation of the directives of the Coordination Committee, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, may God protect him, and aligns with the application of preventive measures to curb the transmission of COVID-19. In a statement, Humaidan praised the efforts of His Excellency Lieutenant-General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Minister of Interior, commending the strong cooperation and coordination between the two ministries in adopting precautionary measures and combating the spread of infection in accommodation occupied by expatriate workers. He emphasised that this complements the efforts of the Ministry of Labour and Social Development in enforcing all precautionary measures in accommodation provided by establishments for their workers, under the Ministry’s supervision and monitoring. He further noted that many employers have promptly implemented measures to address this pandemic, particularly in workers’ housing, including the provision of additional accommodation where required to ease overcrowding and lower density. He noted that 8,011 workers had been transferred to new accommodation provided by their establishments, while some companies and institutions had redistributed workers to vacant rooms within the same accommodation. He affirmed that there would be no leniency towards establishments that fail to comply with health and safety requirements, whether in accommodation or at worksites. The Minister also pointed out that the Ministry has formed a specialised team of occupational safety supervisors and engineers to intensify communication with establishments, ensuring the implementation of legal provisions that require the formation of occupational safety and health committees at workplaces and residences, with the aim of achieving the highest levels of worker safety and protection. Humaidan urged private sector establishments to adopt remote working wherever possible, particularly for roles that can be performed from home, in order to reduce the number of workers at worksites while maintaining productivity. He underscored that preventive measures such as wearing face masks, conducting daily temperature checks, and placing sanitisers in visible areas at worksites—especially at entry and exit points—together with administrative measures such as preventing gatherings in confined spaces, maintaining the required distance as set by the relevant health authorities, and avoiding crowding at worksites or in workers’ accommodation, play a decisive role in limiting the spread of COVID-19. As part of its commitment, the Ministry of Labour and Social Development has overseen the sterilisation of 793 workers’ residences, with designated areas allocated for precautionary quarantine. The Ministry also followed up at 1,055 worksites across numerous companies and institutions to ensure regular sterilisation and to emphasise the importance of raising awareness among all categories of workers of methods to prevent infectious diseases, in addition to implementing proactive measures to combat infection in both worksites and workers’ accommodation. To combat the spread of this global pandemic, the Ministry of Labour and Social Development has launched awareness campaigns in cooperation with the National Campaign to Combat the Spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). Informative publications are being distributed in multiple languages for foreign workers. More than 400,000 awareness booklets and printed materials have been produced, targeting 350,000 foreign workers in various languages. The Ministry has also intensified its communication with employers to reduce the number of workers in employer-provided accommodation, in line with the preventive guidelines on social distancing in workers’ housing, as stipulated in Decision No. (40) of 2014 regarding Requirements and Specifications of Workers' Accommodation, particularly the provision of four square metres of free space for each worker in the rooms in which they reside.