MOHRE conducts 560 inspection visits to monitor private sector’s compliance with COVID-19 precautionary measures

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) conducted over 560 inspection visits to measure the compliance of private establishments’ with the precautionary measures stipulated in the national program to support the stability of the labor market in the private sector, which was launched by the MOHRE in late March in co-ordination with the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA). The visits came as part of the preventive measures taken across the UAE to confront the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), curb its spread and ensure business continuity.

The field visits conducted across the UAE in partnership with the concerned federal and local government entities were aimed at measuring compliance with social distancing rules in workplaces, workers’ accommodations and worker transport buses as stipulated by the precautionary measures, the MOHRE said. They were also aimed at ensuring that health controls and preventive measures in private establishments were in place including the availability of special sections to measure the body temperature of workers and customers as well as sanitizers and other health and safety devices, the MOHRE added.

In light of the precautionary measures, private establishments were obligated to minimize the number of workers required to be available in the worksite to not more than 30 percent of the establishment’s total number of workers. This percentage would also apply to customers in service centers with the exception of the establishments engaged in infrastructure projects, catering, telecommunications, energy, health, education, banking, food industries, hospitality, sanitary ware and cleaning.

Private establishments were also obligated to develop a mechanism to arrange transport of workers from labor accommodations to worksite and vice versa, taking into account that the workers in the means of transport must not exceed 25 percent of its capacity. The MOHRE stressed the necessity for keeping a safe distance of no less than two meters between one worker and another, avoiding gatherings, suspending (cultural, sports and social) activities in labor accommodations and reducing the number of workers during meals in labor accommodation’s restaurants.

The MOHRE pointed out that the inspection visits showed that employers were aware of the importance of abiding by the precautionary measures, which play a key role in preventing workers and customers from being infected with COVID-19. The visits also showed that the majority of visited establishments were committed to applying remote work measures to the workers whose job tasks did not require them to be available at the worksite.

The remote work system gives priority to a number of groups to perform their job tasks remotely. These groups include pregnant women, workers over 55 years of age, people of determination, workers who suffer from respiratory or chronic diseases and female workers who have children in grade 9 and below, provided that they should co-ordinate with the human resource departments in their respective establishments for remote work approval.

The MOHRE affirmed that the field visits stressed the necessity for employers and workers to abide by the preventive measures against COVID-19 as part of its awareness plan on its website, smart app and social media accounts.