Record Dh6.4m fine for employer

DUBAI // The Dubai Immigration Court yesterday fined the owner of an electro-mechanical contracting company a record Dh6.4 million (US$1.7m) for employing 94 illegal workers and sentenced him to two months in jail. Officials said the case was the biggest of its kind, not only in terms of the fine imposed but also the number of illegal workers discovered at a single company. They said the owner flaunted immigration laws "with reckless abandon" and had crossed "a red line" with regard to workers' rights. The illegal workers all received fines or jail terms or both. The court sentenced the owner, who was only identified as an Indian national, Dh1.4m for employing 29 people who had either absconded from their sponsor or who were in the country on visit visas. He was fined a further Dh5m for employing 65 people who had entered the country illegally. "It seems he found it easier to employ these illegal workers than to follow proper procedure. The defendant in this case flaunted the law with reckless abandon," said the chief immigration prosecutor, Ali bin Khatam. He said the owner claimed he was ignorant of the laws governing the employment of foreign workers. The prosecutor said the illegal workers included 70 Bangladeshis, 23 Indians and one Sri Lankan. It was not immediately clear what kind of work they were doing at the company, although electro-mechanical contracting companies are generally involved in the installation and servicing of a wide variety of building systems, including plumbing, air conditioning, ventilation and sprinklers, among others. The illegal employees' passports listed their occupations as workers, farmers and shepherds, according to court documents. Mr Khatam said the nine illegal workers who had overstayed their visit visas were jailed for three months and fined Dh4,000 each, while the 20 who had absconded from their sponsors were jailed for three months and fined Dh3,000 each. The 65 who sneaked across the border were jailed for six months each. All the illegal workers will be deported after serving their jail terms. The case first came to light in August, when several of the illegal workers complained to the Ministry of Labour that they had not been paid their salaries. Many had worked at the company for eight months. Humaid bin Deemas, the under secretary at the Ministry of Labour, said: "Whoever thinks of employing an illegal worker aims to do our society great harm as well as harm the worker he employs. "Our laws aim to protect workers and secure their rights. Workers' rights are a red line that must not be crossed." The undersecretary noted that, in Feb 2007, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said the country could "no longer accept the presence of illegals or the employment of illegals". Mr Deemas added immigration authorities would follow up the cases of the illegal workers to check if their legal sponsors had reported them, or merely let them break the law and work for others. He said that sponsors found remiss in their duty to report absconders would also be charged and fined Dh50,000 for each worker. The company also employed 36 people legally. Mr Deemas said those workers may transfer their sponsorship to another employer if they wished since they were not involved in the case. hbathish@thenational.ae