Despite the effects of the coronavirus crisis, the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) is strictly dealing with the failure of many companies to pay the financial dues of its employees through the Department of Labor Relations of the Employment Protection Sector, reports Al Qabas daily. The owner of the violating company is summoned and is given 48 hours only before legal action is taken to liquidate the guarantees and return the financial dues to the employees, and closing the company file.
The daily announced, quoting responsible sources in the authority, that the administration received hundreds of complaints through the hotline or the visits from troubled employees regarding delaying their salaries for more than 3 months or deducting their salaries and not paying their final dues during the end of their contracts and withholding passports.
The Labor Relations Department has dealt with more than two thousand files. In the case of the company having a government contract and the insistence of the company unwilling to pay the amount despite liquidating the guarantee, the company representative will be referred to the legal authorities, starting with the Public Prosecution and the Judiciary. Sources to Al Qabas revealed hundreds of cases were referred to the prosecution since last March.
With regards to private sector companies, the work in applying the law against them begins by calling the guarantor and applying pressure to him legally by closing the file with code 72 in order to return the financial dues based on complaints. If he continues to be obstinate, his file is referred to the legal authorities and the judiciary. Al Qabas reports that many of the complaints currently being considered by the Department of Labor Relations relate to monthly salaries and financial dues following end of contracts, and have increased under the shadow of the coronavirus crisis more than before. This is because many companies attempt to circumvent the labor law.
The daily also revealed that during the coronavirus crisis many companies in the private sector and small enterprises take sums of money in exchange for visas and others get sums when the employee comes to work for them. This is related to human trafficking, and the violators are referred to the Public Prosecution. The Emergency and Crisis Team, in coordination with the Ministry of Interior, summons violating sponsors within 24 working hours at its district outpost, and a case is registered against him in the event of failure to respond and insistence on being unfair to his employees, after which legal measures are taken to restore labor rights.