It's the same over here in Qatar, muslim colleagues have reduced working hours but we're still on regular ones. But at least it's a lot quieter.

This Ramzan is going to be pretty bad for the poor blokes working outdoors. 14 hour a day fast plus this type of heat. If it were upto me I would enforce a law that anyone having to work construction etc is exempt from the fast. Poor sods making the buildings, malls, stadiums etc have it the worst! I can feel it in my bones that this summer there will be a few deaths in this region, maybe more than just a few

I love Ramadan

I have my lunch then go home.

True ... But most of these workers , as I heard once , do not fast and they eat and drink albeit surreptitiously

yes I have heard that from quite a few people as well and to be honest I think its fair play to them if they want to live and work
I mean in all honesty a person might even be able to survive this summer with a fast for such a long time and for 30 days in a row but the damage that is done to the body while doing such hard labor on a fast HAS to have some repercussions later on in life you know. I am sure a doctor can shed a better life on that topic. Btw for a proper poor person every day of the year is like a ramazan day so what does he care about religion or heaven or hell, he is already living in one.

Oh and good news, according to the authorities, its only hot from 12.30 to 3.00 pm here in the middle east, otherwise its raining bunny rabbits with ice-cubes stuck up their bums!
Midday break rule for outdoor workers starts on Monday | GulfNews.com

...

that is funny , I don't know about the UAE , I guess it is more humid over there but boy o boy here in Oman , it is absolutely sweltering , the other day I forgot to put the car shade and the steering wheel was too hot to even touch ! damn ! Can't get out of my car for minutes without getting drenched in sweat ...
absoltely awful heat ,
getting back to the original point , I guess that it is illegal to eat and drink in public , one has to hide to do it I guess ... which never made sense to me ...
I wonder if they'd throw you in the slammer if you got caught chewing on a sandwich

I always put my Muslim guys on nightshift during Ramadan , that with overtime paid after 6 hrs and Iftar brought to site always goes down well .

Th Summer directive here 11.30-3.30pm takes the sting out of a lot of work outside but remember it's defined here as "An open place under the direct sun"

We counter act that with shaded areas / misters / cool rooms and water breaks. It's all about managing risk . Unfortunately the guys at the bottom who work for unscrupulous employers are at very high risk .

previously we had to schedule breaks for SWR (shade , water and rest ) for Locals to prevent severe cases of heat exhaustion , it was necessary since many started fainting under the sun ... it doesn't matter what precautions are being taken , working directly under the ME sun is merciless .....

Exactly.

You may personally being doing some good and helping, but there's so many bastard employers out there that don't.

Luxury (to be said in a Yorkshire accent).

you sir are a good man!

Theres a carrefour being built close to me and I can see the poor sods just sitting under the trees in the afternoon trying to rest / eat but ofcourse the hot air wont even let them breathe. Thats no way to live imho

Think of the poor Bedouin seal trappers in the Arctic Circle at this time of year: Midnight Sun = weeks without a drink or morsel of sustenance. These so called workers in the Middle East have got it easy.

More fool them. Go by the times of Mecca

Several words too many?

We just got an email saying our "official" hours will be 9am-4pm

absolutely no chance of actually working those hours though