New one-day labour court brings swift justice
Vulnerable workers no longer have to go through a long process that could drag on for months
A new one-day labour court aims to provide swift justice and put an end to long disputes over pay and working conditions.
The Abu Dhabi judicial body has dealt with 27 cases since it was launched on October 1, and its main legal adviser has urged victims of labour abuse not to suffer in silence.
Benjimin Burgher has overseen the establishment of the court, which deals with cases that involve disputes and claims amounting to less than Dh20,000 and require no major investigation.
The intention is to find swift resolutions, particularly to clear-cut cases in which employees haven’t been paid, or where a member of staff has made a false legal or financial claim against their boss.
Based at the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, the court has already resolved or dismissed half of the cases it has seen.
Others have been sent to higher courts for further investigation.
“We know that there are a number of really vulnerable workers who are not well paid, and we were looking for more effective ways in dealing with labour court disputes,” said Mr Burgher, a British barrister, former judge and legal consultant to Abu Dhabi Judicial Department.
One of the main issues in pay disputes is the length of time claimants have no money to live off of.
“Workers often have to go through a long court process, leaving them desperate.
“So the question was how such cases can be best resolved?” Mr Burgher asked.
“If they are straightforward and clear they should have been paid, but employers are procrastinating.”
He said there were cases in which an employee found a new job and claimed they were owed excessive money for wages or end of service payments.
A claimant is initially considered for the one-day court, rather than the old system where the case had to go through registration, case management and a judge.
“We are taking out case management and registration,” Mr Burgher said.
“It is straightforward. We receive an email from the ministry to say ‘this is the case, we think it is straightforward’, and it gets automatically registered with the one-day court.”
The long-established wage protection system, set up in 2009, allows the authorities to examine whether or not a company has actually paid its workers.
“If the wage protection system says they have not paid, it means that either the employee is not working, or employers are not paying,” said Mr Burgher.
“So it’s very simple and it is not really a difficult judicial consideration.
“It is still necessary to have a judge decide, but it does not necessarily take seven months to decide.
“If someone says they have been bullied, mistreated and abused, that is a lot of facts, so it still goes to normal courts.”
And most importantly, the one-day court found a way to speed up procedures even when some employers attempt to delay rulings by failing to show up to the hearings.
If the other party fails to show up and there is proof that they have been notified, the judge can make a definite final decision in their absence.
A verdict issued by the oneday court is final and not subject to appeal, so there is no room for either party to stretch out the case by months.
“By the time it is over, the poor worker would not have been paid a penny for a year and a half,” Mr Burgher said.
“We are trying to remove those abuses, and to increase the reputation of Abu Dhabi and the UAE in these disputes.
“So, no more employers thinking of abuse, thinking all they need to do is not show up to drag it out, and so on.
“If they don’t show up after 14 days, and they were properly notified, the judge deals with it.”
The Government is in the process of setting up centres called Tasheel to deal specially with labour issues.
“Even for people who are illiterate and cannot read, they can go to Tasheel.
“There they can speak to a legal adviser and ask straightforward questions.
“If people knew their rights, they would say, ‘This is what we thought should be happening and this is what happened. Why?’
“At the moment, if they don’t know anything, they don’t think the judge has access to do anything.
“There is a process. You can come to court and get your passport back.
“There is a lot of good law here to prevent the previous abuses.
“There is a real drive and determination to change.”