Kerala: Timing war heats up

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The scorching sun and the revised summer work timings for outdoor manual labourers has affected the productivity by around 20 to 30 per cent in the construction sector, say builders. As per the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), by and large, only indoor works are done during afternoon restrictions between 12pm and 3pm. 

Though the Labour department suggests that work timings can be between 7am and 7pm during summer, builders say that it does not compensate for the loss of productive afternoon work timings.

“It’s difficult to get workers at 7am. They come only by 9am.  Builders do not expect them to work outdoors in the afternoon as we only cannot supervise them outside under the hot son. On the other hand, it is not possible to work after 6pm as the light goes off.  Work at night is not possible because of safety reasons and local residents complain about the sound,” said SN Reghuchandran Nair, vice-president of CREDAI.

On Thursday, Deccan Chronicle observed that for timebound projects by BSNL, NHAI and others, the restrictions were flouted. When consulted, workers said that they were used to such work and carried wet towels to beat the heat.

Though violation of work timings can attract a fine for employers in the Middle East such action was not possible in Kerala, says the Labour department. “We have not been able to take any punitive actions because in most cases, labourers say they work based on their free will. But, worksite inspections are being done by district labour officers and additional labour commissioners of various regions,” said Labour Commissioner K. Biju.