Abandoned workers recount ordeal

Abu Dhabi: Former employees with the Bridges and Roads International Construction Company (BRICC) have described how they survived in the UAE after the owner of the company disappeared in 2004 abandoning over 1,000 unpaid workers.

Yesterday nearly Dh6 million was still being distributed to the men outside the Abu Dhabi Sharia court a day after a landmark case put an end to the workers' 26-month wait.

While the Labour Ministry quickly granted permission to seek alternative employment in 2004, the men described how finding jobs left them penniless and in some instances forced them to appeal for money from their cash-strapped families in Pakistan.

Mohammad Fayaz who had worked for BRICC for 12 years and has a family of seven to support said he spent three months without a job after the company owner vanished.

When he eventually found another job with a trading company he was thousands of dirhams in debt and had to pay a Dh3,500 fine after his visa expired.

"Life was terribly difficult. Many of us had nothing. We tried to help each other but it was impossible. Is this the way a company you work for for so long should treat you?" he asked.

Ahmad Zamir who had worked as a labourer with BRICC for seven years said like many he was forced to work illegally while he hunted for alternative employment.

He said after three months sometimes earning as little as Dh20 a day and worried the authorities would find out he had no sponsor, he eventually found work with another construction company.

"It was very exhausting and worrying for people back home," he said referring to his seven family members, including one child who he hasn't seen in three years.

Mohammad Sabir was a driver and foreman with BRICC for five years. He spent nine months searching for another job which paid him enough to support his family. He was aware of the irony of his situation when he had to ask them to come to his aid.

"I had to ask them, the people who I am supposed to be supporting, to help me. I had to get loans from those I am here to help. I cannot begin to tell you how hard it was. We were completely abandoned. Our stories are too long to tell you now," he said.