​As summer temperatures rise across the Kingdom, building contractors in Riyadh are giving workers a three-hour break in the afternoons, from 12 noon to 3 p.m., when the heat is at its highest. Fahd Al-Hammadi, head of the contracting division at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said 90 percent of construction companies care about their workers. “I canceled three hours of work knowing that the workers would appreciate the step and would double their efforts during the remaining hours,” he said. He also ruled out the possibility of companies reducing salaries saying it is a temporary step until the weather gets cooler. “There are parts of Riyadh where the temperatures reach 50 degrees and more. There is no way someone could work in those conditions,” he said.