staff from Free zone can't move courts directly

Labour disputes in free zones should be first reported to the free zone authorities before moving the courts. In the event the free zone authority fails to reach a satisfactory settlement of the dispute, the case should then be referred to the Labour Court.

The Dubai Court of Cassation established the new legal principle while considering the appeal filed by an employee working in Jebel Ali Free Zone before the Labour Court to demanding his company pay him of Dh558,000 in dues.

The employee (plaintiff) said he had joined the company as Managing Director on Dh35,000 monthly salary. On his return from annual leave he was surprised to learn that a report of him having 'escaped' was issued by the company. He alleges the company took such a step to avoid paying him teh dues.

He said the dues include salary until the end of his contract which is about Dh345,000; compensation for unfair dismissal which is about Dh105,000; annual leave allowance Dh7,000 for the last two years; Dh73,000 as service bonus; and air ticket alowance Dh1,500.

The Court of First Instance refused to accept the case because he failed to present his complaint to Jebel Ali Free zone Authority first.

He then moved the Court of Appeal which again rejected the appeal and upheld the appellant.

But the employee was not satisfied with the verdict and moved the Court of Cassation which issued the new principles mentioned above.

The Court of Cassation said its ruling: “The legislator in the decree of establishing the authority of Jebel Ali Free Zone and its implementing regulations gave authority to the free zone of Jebel Ali (power and competence) to receive complaints and requests for workers and companies and institutions working in the geographical scope of the free zone of Jebel Ali of any legal disputes."

The court added also it has given the power to settle the dispute amicably, and in case the authority failed to reach a settlement, it is entitled to take the decision it deems appropriate, such as refer the case to the competent court.

The new federal law concerning the protection of consumers will be enforced in the third quarter

The UAE is on the verge of enforcing tough penalties involving fines of up to Dh1 million against dealers trying to manipulate the market by raising prices of consumer products without prior official permission.

The Ministry of Economy said the new regulations, which have been approved by the federal cabinet, would be enforced in the third quarter of this year and warned traders against any manipulation attempts.

In a statement carried by local Arabic newspapers, the ministry said it would not allow dealers to manipulate or control consumers and ruled out any move by the higher committee for the consumer’s protection to approve requests by suppliers to raise the prices of some products this year.

The ministry said its anti-manipulation actions had ensured market stability, adding that prices of consumer products in the UAE are the lowest in the Gulf despite the absence of subsidies enforced in other Gulf nations.

“The new federal law concerning the protection of consumers will be enforced in the third quarter…it involves increasing the penalty ceiling to Dh1 million after it was endorsed by the cabinet,” economy minister Sultan Al Mansouri said.

“The UAE will not allow traders to manipulate consumers at will….the government will continue to intervene in consumer prices to ensure maximum protection for the consumers in the country.”

Mansouri said the ministry’s higher committee for consumer’s protection is considered “the frontline” in the defence of consumers, adding that it would not approve any new price increases without “strong and convincing reasons.”

“The committee normally carries out a comprehensive study into any request for prices increases…this study involves the reasons for this increase, the price level in the country of origin, prices in neighbouring countries and the profit margin…I don’t think we will approve any price rise this year,” he said.

According to Emirat Al Youm newspaper, the new law increases the maximum penalty against violating dealers to Dh1 million from Dh100,000 and the minimum fine to Dh100,000 from Dh10,000.

'Thousands' of visa scams uncovered by Interior Ministry

The Ministry of Labour has unearthed ‘thousands’ of cases of visa fraud by owners of certain establishments applying for residence visas for individuals without labour cards, senior ministry officials have said.

According to Humaid bin Deemas, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labour, three such cases have been unearthed during the past two weeks. He said the owner of a facility which has only 30 work permits (labour visas) tried to issue 130 visas from the Residency and Foreign Affairs Department.
“The electronic link between the ministries of Labor and Interior detects and prevents these cases of forgery, and will allow us to say ‘goodbye’ to the visa traders,” he said.
Bin Deemas made the announcement on the sidelines of an event to mark the conclusion of the first phase of the electronic link between the two ministries.
Colonel Saeed Salem Al Shamsi, General Manager of the Residency & Foreign Affairs Department at the Ministry of Interior, said: “The ministry discovered thousands of cases of fraud that were carried out by the owners of facilities in which they requested residence visas for persons who do not have labour cards.”
He added that the linking will prevent all such fraud and will also identify companies that are violating the laws of residence and labour by recruiting absconding workers.
Bin Deemas explained that the electronic link allows a company owner to send request for and receive visas electronically.
It also allows cancellation of the labor card and the facility to deport the same day – provided that the owner of the facility has electronic signature card, the worker shouldn’t have any fines, and also that the employer would have paid all the dues of the worker, said Bin Deemas.
He added that with the completion of the second phase of the project which is in implementation currently, the reports of absconding workers will be included in the database, helping authorities in establishing if a particular is still within the UAE or has left the country.
It will also allow the Ministry of the Interior to control any fraud carried out by the owner of an establishment with so-called visas traders.
Bin Deemas pointed out that some employers were applying false documents to the Residency & Foreign Affairs Department declaring abolition of work permits to workers they already have and at the same time applying for visas for other people.
He noted that the electronic link between the ministries of Labour and the Interior will make it impossible to pass any of these cases.
The electronic link will also save time and effort for applicants and reduce the number of applicants at the ministries of Labour and the Interior.

Common driving licence syatem for all GCC

The GCC countries have agreed to a common driving licence system at a conference that took place Sunday in Abu Dhabi.

The three-day conference of directors of traffic departments from the GCC countries is being held to address common challenges, policies and procedures related to traffic issues.

"The UAE presented a proposal for a unified driving licence system. An agreement was reached to implement the suggestion of having a common driving licence for vehicles, including motorcycles, construction vehicles and private cars," Gaith Al Za'abi, director-general of traffic coordination at the Ministry of Interior, said.

"Further discussions will address other types of vehicles, including age and other relevant issues," Al Za'abi added.

The conference will also talk about the possibility of implementing a suggestion made by Oman for a unified form for driving licences containing sufficient background and security information to minimise fraud. "The agreed to procedures will be sent to the ministries of interior for a final approval," he said.

The UAE has also presented a proposal for an electronic web service or an electronic gate that links traffic data across the GCC countries.

"Some 70 per cent of the traffic exchange data among the GCC countries is related to fines. The e-gate will make this data exchange easier and accessible to the public. GCC residents can check online and pay traffic fines committed in any other country," Al Za'abi said.

Success rate

The directors agreed to hold the "GCC Traffic Week" at the same time yearly. They also assessed the success rate of previous traffic campaigns and agreed to maintain the successful ones. In the UAE the Emirates ID will soon be linked to the traffic department as well as the immigration and naturalisation department.

"With this linkage renewing residency means having to pay all outstanding fines or vehicle related fees such as registration, insurance, renting etc," Brigadier Hussain Al Harthy, director of traffic and patrols at Abu Dhabi Police, said.

Enforcing the speed limit helped reduce traffic accidents, according to Al Harthy. "Our procedures have helped reduce fatalities to 10 per 100,000 residents," Al Harthy said.

Worker wins damages against firm

Company ordered to pay employee Dh111,000 for lost job.

An Abu Dhabi court of cassation ordered a local company to pay Dh111,000 in damages for an employee after it failed to respect its work offer for him, resulting in the loss of his previous job, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

The worker told court that he had resigned from his job at another company after receiving a job offer from the new employers, who also committed to issuing him a new visa and a labour card, Emirat Alyoum Arabic language daily said.

After he quit his first job and cancelled his visa, he was told by the new company that the offer to start his new job in October 2008 had been cancelled because of the global financial crisis, the paper said.

His lawyer told court that the company’s action resulted in the loss of his client’s job and his health insurance, adding that this has had adverse social and psychological effects on him.

The court upheld previous sentences by two courts and dismissed argument by the company’s lawyers that the case should be referred to the labour court.

“The court also said that it is not compelled to consider a letter without evidence from the company that it had taken this measure because of the difficult economic conditions at that time,” the paper said.