UAE | Employment
False absconding case has ruined my life, woman claims
Woman says former employer reported her to authorities after she filed a complaint over unfair termination, end-of-service benefits and unpaid wages
- By Bassma Al Jandaly, Senior Reporter
- Published: 00:00 February 3, 2012
- Image Credit: Virendra Saklani/ Gulf News
- Jayaraman claims she was arrested on the spot and detained for three days on charges of absconding and having bounced cheques against her name.
Dubai: A woman has claimed that a malicious absconding case levelled against her has ruined her life.
Lakshmi Jayaraman, an Indian mother, said her company falsely reported her as having absconded — two months after she filed a complaint at Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority's (Jafza) labour dispute office against her employer over unfair termination, end-of-service benefits and unpaid salaries. Four months after her contract was terminated, her employer filed a complaint at the Jebel Ali Police Station claiming she ran a private business whilst employed with the company.
The mother of two daughters — 10-year-old Arti and 16-month-old Sanghvi — said she had joined Walls and Floors ME FZCO in Jebel Ali as a human resource manager two years ago. Her services were terminated in July last year.
Filing of complaint
"I refused to sign the termination letter and filed a complaint against the company at the Jafza labour dispute office the same day I was terminated. The office transferred the case to the court after it failed to resolve it," she said.
She claimed that the company reported her as absconding during the court process.
"I heard about the absconding case in January. So I went to the concerned department's dispute section at Al Aweer to complain that the absconding case was malicious," she said.
Jayaraman claims she was arrested on the spot and detained for three days on charges of absconding and having bounced cheques against her name.
"I was later transferred to the CID at Dubai Police headquarters where I spent one day. I was then transferred to Al Muraqqabat Police Station where I was released on bail. I had to go to Al Rifaa Police Station in connection with another bounced cheque case and was sent me back to Al Muraqqabat Police Station because there were no cells for women at Al Rifaa," she said.
"I got bail again and was sent to Jebel Ali police station at around 12.30pm the same day. I was asked to wait in the reception at Jebel Ali police station's until 6pm, sitting handcuffed in a small chair, handcuffed on until 6 pm. They refused to bail me out [using] my sister's passport saying [a] woman's passport is not accepted in such cases," Jayaraman said.
She was sent back to Bur Dubai Police Station as there were no holding cells for women at the Jebel Ali Police Station.
"After two days my husband tried to bail me out but they refused to release me because of the absconding case and they sent me back to Bur Dubai Police Station's custody were I stopped eating for seven days [until] they released me on bail last week."
She said she went back to the dispute section at Al Aweer for the absconding case were she was told it did not fall under their authority and sent her to Jafza immigration office, which in turn sent her to a Jafza labour dispute office which in turn said they had the right to report her as absconding even if there was a court case because they were not bound by UAE labour law.
Jayaraman said the public prosecutor in Dubai interrogated her this Monday for running private business while working.
"I'm a mother of two small kids, my husband just started working. I knocked [on] all doors to help me revoke the absconding case with no hope," she said.
Employer responds
Gulf News contacted Mohammad Riza Nikzad, managing director of Walls and Floors ME FZCO, who said Lakshmi Jayaraman ran a private business whilst employed, resulting in her contract being terminated and the company reporting her to the police.
"We did not file [an] absconding case against her, Jafza did," he said.
Rashid Bin Lahj, an official from the Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority's (Jafza) Labour Dispute office, said a labour case is being reviewed by the court on this issue. He refused to comment on the absconding case.
In October, Jayaraman was arrested from her beauty saloon, handcuffed by CID officers and detained at Jebel Ali Police Station for more than 12 hours before she being released on bail.
Jayaraman, who has lived here for eight years, said she had owned and run the salon for a lengthy period of time before joining her employer, who she says she informed and was granted approval.
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