10,000 labour disputes settled by Abu Dhabi court last year

Nearly 10,000 labour disputes were dealt with by the Abu Dhabi judicial authorities last year.
Latest figures released by the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department show that 9,828 labour complaints were filed at the Abu Dhabi Labour Court during 2017. And 5,500 of these cases were treated as collective claims.
The complaints, especially lodged by workers, ranged from financial claims, unpaid salaries as well as overtime and failure by employers to return employees' passports after end of service. 
Officials said the one-day labour court introduced in October last year also handled 65 cases that involved disputes and claims amounting to less than Dh20,000 and required no major investigation.
The judicial department said the one-day labour court chamber - dealing with straightforward cases where the value of the claim is less than Dh20,000 - aims to speed up rulings and settle disputes between workers and employers.
Benjimin Burgher, a legal consultant at the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, said, "The aim of one-day labour court 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 bosses," he said.
The labour court in Abu Dhabi has a jurisdiction over cases involving workers in the private sector, through the application of the Labor Law and the Human Rights Charter, taking into account speed and fairness while resolving cases.
Under the law and to protect the interests of both parties, the labour court had previously asked litigants to resort first to the reconciliation committees, in an attempt to find amicable solutions to their disputes. But in early 2017, these committees in the labour court were removed with a view to expedite the process of litigation and dispute resolution.
The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation refers the dispute to the labour court and after registering the case in the electronic registration section, the case management officers handle the dispute directly. They then refer the case file to the competent chamber, having served a notice of the hearing date to the defendant.
The jurisdiction of the major chamber is restricted to cases involving rights and claims more than Dh500,000, and where the claims are of unknown value, including recovery of passports or certificates of experience. The minor chambers usually consider cases where the value of the claim is less than Dh500,000.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com