UAE: Legal opinion highlights barriers to access justice for migrant workers facing employers' "malicious" absconding claims
Summary
Date Reported: 19 Oct 2023
Location: United Arab Emirates
Other
Not Reported ( Sector not reported/applicable ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported )Issues
Wage Theft , Dismissal , Intimidation , Access to Justice & Legal ProtectionResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: When the worker tried to filed a report that the absconding charge was malicious they could not do so.
Source type: News outlet
"Ask the law: My employer fired me, then filed an escape report,"
I have been working in a private company for two years. Two months ago, the company fired me from work, paid me my end-of-service rights, and forced me to sign to receive my full rights, even though these amounts paid to me by the company do not represent my full rights. I also learned from the Ministry of Labour that the employer filed an escape report against me. I tried to prove to the Ministry of Labour that the report was malicious, but I was unable to file this report. My question is: What is the appropriate procedure to take in order to cancel the escape report? Is it possible to claim the rest of my labor rights that I have not fully obtained?...
Absconding is registered by the concerned employer, who is supposed to pledge that he does not know the location of the escaped worker or a legitimate reason for his absence from work. The appropriate procedure to be taken, in case the employer refused to settle and remove this ban, is to file a grievance to the Labour Ministry to remove it.
In case it was not removed, so you have to file a labour case against the employer claiming your rights, explaining that the absconding is really malicious, while submitting all the documents that prove your case, including the document that the employer had forced you to sign regarding your dues because it contradicts with the pledge mentioned above that the employer should have made. Then use the judgment and submit it again to the labour ministry to remove the absconding.
It is possible to claim the rest of your labour dues that you have not fully obtained because any discharge of the rights arising for the worker as per the labour laws shall be considered null and void if it violates the provisions of the law...