Safety rules are being breached

A reader draws attention to the lack of safety measures at construction sites. Andrew Parsons / The National

I have seen workers in harnesses installing billboards or putting stickers on high-rises. But when I looked closely, I noticed that most of them did not have adequate safety gear. This has happened on more than two occasions.

Once, I was frightened for a group of men who were working on a seven-storey building without any protective gear whatsoever. I am sure that these are not stray cases. People will continue to flout the safety rules if such lapses are not reported.

At the same time, strict enforcement of rules is necessary.

It’s mostly smaller companies that ignore the rules as they engage contract or part-time workers. They need to be monitored all the time.

Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi

Is Pakistan’s decision on Yemen justified?

The UAE has every right to ask why Pakistan is not supporting its old friend in the Gulf (Why is Pakistan not supporting its old friend?, April 13).

In this context, I would like to reiterate that every Pakistani, respects Sheikh Zayed and his assistance to Pakistan. Pakistanis also have a high regard for the current leadership, which is why they love to come to the UAE to work or to invest. Currently Pakistanis are the second biggest property investors in the UAE.

Unfortunately, Pakistan is going through a very tough time. One province, Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, is fighting the Taliban and Al Qaeda. More than 175,000 soldiers have been deployed for this purpose.

Pakistan is not in a position to fight another war.

Muhammad Shahzad, Pakistan

A friend in need is a friend indeed. So there is no doubt that Pakistan should work with its Gulf allies to resolve the Yemeni conflict. Why not? When Pakistan went through tough times, the Gulf countries stood by it and helped it in every way.

Ubaid, Qatar

When your own house is on fire, how can you possibly focus on putting out the one in someone else’s home?

Farooq Bhatti, Pakistan

Commendable honesty

I appreciate Khaled Al Noobi's honesty (My wife divorced me over mountains of debt, April 12). His confession might help others prevent a similar situation. Good luck. Keep fighting.

Michael Rennschmied, Qatar

Questions about the price of oil

Steven Kopits's comment piece Why rising global demand will set the price of crude (April 10) raises questions. When prices finally start to rise, how fast does the writer anticipate they will climb? Does he think American shale operators, who I assume, are desperate at this point, will respond at the smallest signal of a price increase? Or does he think that they will have the discipline to wait until demand far outstrips supply? And if they do choose to begin production immediately, to recover at least some of their costs and to repay debt, then how long will it take them to produce enough to suppress the price once again?

Additionally, in the event that oil prices rise rapidly, what impact does the writer think it will have on the equity market? Or on GDP?

I believe that the market will probably respond negatively prior to a recession. This will be in anticipationof a recession, especially in the light of what happened in 2008. Then, oil prices were as high as $140 (Dh512) a barrel and both the equity and housing markets were in significant decline.

Also – and I know timing is incredibly hard to predict – when does the writer anticipate that the surplus will run out and we will see an increase in price? I also noticed that he expects inventories to begin building up again in the second quarter of 2016. Unless I am misinterpreting what he said and drawing the wrong conclusion, what gives him that impression?

Is it the potential influx of Iranian oil? Is it the ability to get back to production for the shale operators?

As always, I appreciate Kopits's insights. I learn a lot from his analysis.

Name withheld by request