Our Site Stops at Half Past Twelve — Epoche A2
It is July in Dubai: 43 degrees. At half past twelve today our whole site went quiet. The cranes parked, the mixers stopped, and my 180 men walked into the shade. A visitor asked me if it was a strike. No. It is the law. Every summer, from 15 June to 15 September, outdoor work under the sun is forbidden across the UAE between 12:30 and 3 p.m. Inspectors visit sites, and the fine counts each worker separately, so no company plays games with the clock. The problem behind the law is simple. At one o'clock in August, the sun here can hurt a working man in less than an hour. Water helps, but rest in shade is the real medicine. So how does a tower get finished? We move the day instead. The first shift starts at five in the morning, in cool air, and runs to 12:30. Then comes the long break: lunch, prayer, and sleep in the shaded rest area, which the law also requires, with water and fans. At three the second shift begins and runs into the evening. Between half past twelve and three, nothing grows here. The tower rises in the mornings and in the evenings, like the plants of a desert.