Workers unsure of pardon rules for absconders

Abu Dhabi: A number of Sri Lankan housemaids who have run away from their sponsors said they would like to come back to the UAE but are unaware of the amnesty rules for absconders.

"I would like to go home as I have been away from my daughter and two sons for the past four years. I have to come back again as I am the only one to support my elderly mother and three children. My husband ran away five years ago," said C.N., speaking to Gulf News at the Sri Lankan embassy as she waited for her outpass.

She said she ran away from her sponsor in Sharjah because of the ill-treatment and found a job with a Lebanese family in Abu Dhabi. She said she has to go home and bail out her husband. "He was jailed for carrying a weapon illegally. Although he ran away, I know he does not have anybody else to bail him out."

A.S., a Tamil speaking housemaid, is also happy to go home. "I am going to meet my eight children, husband, ailing mother, and bed-ridden brother after four years.

Options

"My husband is a drunkard and never works. So there is no other option but to come back." She is not afraid of her sponsor's report against her. "After absconding, I have been working with an Indian family in Al Ain secretly." M.H., a young man from a Colombo suburb said a recruitment agency tricked him.

"I had to abscond from the hotel where I was working because I was compelled to work as a cleaner instead of 'assistant cook'. The amnesty is a golden opportunity. I am confident I will get a job as a cook in a good hotel when I come back," he said.

Authorities in the UAE have said that absconding workers will have complaints against them withdrawn if they wish to re-enter the country. Those who are not working for a sponsor, can transfer their sponsorship without paying a fine.

Most of the workers who already got their outpasses are not aware of the legal formalities to come back and work in the country.

Embassy waits for clarification

The Sri Lankan Embassy said it will wait to receive clarification from the UAE authorities to guide their nationals.

"We are acting on verbal instructions from the Ministry of Labour and issuing outpasses.

"But some people who approached the authorities with outpasses to leave the country were rejected and came back to the embassy because they are absconders.

"We are waiting for written instructions from the UAE Authorities," said Ambassador Mohammad Nabavi Junaid.