Labour dispute cases in Abu Dhabi shrink by 40 per cent in 2022: Judicial Dept.

Labor disputes in the Abu Dhabi emirate decreased significantly by 40% between 2022 and the corresponding time in 2021. According to the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD), this was due to the awareness-raising activities that strengthened the legal culture of employees and businesses and made them aware of the rights protected by UAE labour laws.

The Under-Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Judiciary Department, Counsellor Youssef Saeed Al Abri, credited the effective awareness programmes carried out by the Department in collaboration with strategic partners for raising both corporate and individual understanding of the laws in effect in the nation. These programmes seek to advance the legal culture in accordance with His Highness's orders, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Presidential Court, and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, noted.

Improving economic stability for institutions and people

Al Abdri emphasised how the development of legal processes matters and how the way disputes are handled in the labour court contributes to improving economic stability for institutions and people in general. This was in line with the emirate's vision and the ADJD strategic plan, he continued, which supported the emirate's position as a desirable location for foreign investment and enterprise.

Additionally, by visiting their locations and offering them translations in up to 5 languages, including Arabic, English, Urdu, Pashto, and Bengali, the Department hopes to reach a large number of clients through these awareness campaigns. This is a convenient way for the Department to speak to the target groups in their own languages. This aids in educating people about the crucial legislation that protects their rights in the UAE, responding to their inquiries, and offering legal counsel as well.

The Department's efforts to promote the legal culture through employee awareness initiatives are reflected in the decrease in labour cases. A number of campaigns were run at labour camps over the course of the past year to familiarise workers with the duties outlined in the new labour law.

The campaigns emphasised the necessity of adhering to occupational safety and health regulations, maintaining production equipment, not possessing work-related paper or electronic records for personal use, maintaining the work, diligently developing functional and professional skills, and raising performance levels.

The campaigns also aimed to inform workers about the contracting processes with employers, the appropriate channels and methods for filing complaints, how to obtain rights under the employment contract in the event of termination of the contract or the employer's breach of duty, and the requirements for termination.

These campaigns emphasise the need to contact the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation in the event that the employer failed to provide the agreed-upon job opportunity or the employee failed to receive payment on schedule, as well as the procedures for transferring to another facility for employment and the rules for doing so.

The awareness campaigns also emphasised the need of abiding by the law in order to voice displeasure, register complaints through legal channels without generating commotion, and exercise an employee's right to quit the organisation after fulfilling his commitments.

(With ANI Inputs)