Egyptian labourers compensated for dismissal by RAK construction company

Ras Al Khaimah: A construction company in Ras Al Khaimah on Tuesday sacked ten Egyptian labourers only six days after their arrival to the UAE, claiming that they were not fit for the profession.

The residencies of the labourers are still under review and have not been approved by the authorities yet. Once they were informed about the company's decision, they approached the emirate's Labour Department and lodged an official complaint against their sponsoring company that their very early dismissal was not justified.

The Egyptian labourers claimed that each of them paid Dh3,500 to the company as the residency fee. They also demanded they be reimbursed for the air tickets from Egypt and be provided with air tickets to return.

Fatima Al Awadi, a legal advisor at the RAK Labour Department said the complaint was immediately investigated and the owner of the construction company was summoned to the department for interrogation.

She added that the company owner confessed to receiving Dh3,500 from every labourer as per an agreement with the recruitment broker that guarantees that they are fit for their new work,

He claimed that this proved otherwise and that he deserved the money.

Al Awadi said a compromise was reached in this dispute where the company owner returned the labourers their cash money, reimbursed each of them with Dh1,000 for the ticket.

The company also pledged to offer them tickets to return to Egypt and to pay Dh200 each for the five days they worked in the company.

The legalities for issuing the labourers their UAE residencies were stopped and they will be given their passports very soon to return to their homeland.