Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Labour has announced that around 27,962 establishments have settled fines related to 58,365 workers who are registered under their sponsorship.
The companies settled the fines during the grace period which was approved by the UAE Cabinet on December 31, 2014.
The grace period ran from January 2015 until the end of June, targeting 95,000 labour cards from 40,000 establishments. The period gave all the employers a chance to settle labour fines by just paying Dh1,000 regardless of the fine amount on each labour card.
Humaid Bin Deemas Al Suwaidi, Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Labour, explained: “Enterprises that have benefited from the deadline amounted to about 70 per cent of the total number of establishments in the UAE, of which more than 61 per cent of their workers have settled labour card fines. We are proud of the remarkable success we have achieved. The Cabinet’s decision helped stimulate the labour market and encouraged owners to rearrange personnel files and abide by the UAE’s labour laws.”
He praised the commitment made by most company owners, which contributed to achieving the ministry’s objectives, and also praised the important role played by the local media in spreading the word.
Addressing a press conference yesterday (Monday) at the ministry’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi, Al Suwaidi said that the final results of the fine settlement grace period are as follows; “Enterprises that have benefited from the grace period for amending the conditions of their employees have reached 58,365, as 43,914 labour cards have been cancelled and 13,221 have been renewed. The ministry noted that 1,230 employees have been reported off-duty.”
“All enterprises that benefited from the grace period, achieved financial savings worth Dh1.81 billion by just paying Dh37.5 million for the fines. The amount due before the grace period was Dh1.85 billion as administrative fines on expired labour cards,” according to Al Suwaidi.
He added, “The ministry can now identify companies that haven’t settled their fines and will keep them on its radar; around 12,038 facilities employing 36,635 workers. Inspections will be carried out next week until the end of the current year to closely monitor their practices and take the necessary measures against them as per the directives of Saqr Gobash, Minister of Labour, who urged the need to report these establishments, especially since they’ve committed explicit violations against laws regulating UAE’s labour market.”
“Starting from July, fines imposed will be increased to Dh4,000 on enterprises that did not respond to the grace period to settle labour cards that have been fined prior to December 31, 2014. The fines will increase every month by Dh1,000, so by January 2016 those companies will face a Dh10,000 fine per card if they do not respond, while labour card fines which have been issued during 2015 will increase by Dh500 each month,” he pointed out.
