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The ministry’s warning came in the wake of a surge of labour disputes, where labourers complained that recruitment agents demanded commission for getting them employed.
Speaking to ‘Khaleej Times’ yesterday, an official source at the ministry said the phenomenon has become alarming as many recruitment offices charge a huge amount of money from labourers in return for arranging jobs for them within the country. “This is a flagrant violation of the Labour Law. It is a sort of trading in labour force that is illegal, according to the Labour Law and regulations set by the country,” said the source.
He said that according to Article 18 of the Labour Law, “no employment agent or supplier of labour shall demand or accept from any person, either before or after his/her recruitment any commission or material reward for any expenses thereby incurred, except as may be ordered or approved by the ministry.”
The article also stipulates that “upon entering employment, the person employed shall possess all the rights of the employees of the establishment in which he/she is employed. Relations between the employee and the employer shall be direct and without intervention on the part of the employment agent, whose relationships with the two sides shall cease as soon as the employee is introduced to and employed by the employer,” said the source. “This illegal practice of garnering money will subject recruitment offices to legal action for not abiding by the bylaws regulating the procedures for employing workforce,” said the source.
He said the magnitude of the problem is mainly felt when labour disputes involving unpaid dues and financial entitlements arise, noting that violator recruitment agencies adopt different ways to collect commissions. “The way these offices are paid may differ, as some agents prefer to levy a commission on the labourer’s wages, while others ask to be paid in installments,” he said.
He underlined that the ministry has of late classified recruitment agencies into different categories, according to their activities and the type of workforce they recruit. The move is aimed at enhancing the recruitment sector and curbing illegal practices concerning the employment of foreign workforce in the country, he said.
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