An official at the ministry told Khaleej Times that if any firm is proved to have collected any fees from workers, the ministry will impose a stern set of penalties against it such as ordering its closure and suspending its transactions with the Ministry of Labour.
The erring company will not be allowed to bring in more employees, nor will it be issued or renewed labour cards.
Processing of any transaction with the ministry will be stopped until it rectifies the violation and return the fees collected illegally from the workers.
If a company’s proprietor is found guilty of such offences, he/she shall face a jail sentence plus a fine of not less than Dh10,000 per each violation or face either of the two penalties.
The official called upon employees who fall prey to such infringements to report them to the Ministry of Labour so that the ministry could investigate and substantiate the complaints in a legal way.
He clarified that most of such violations could not be probed well since companies committing these offences do not give receipts to the workers for the fees collected.
If the ministry is convinced and has conclusive evidence that a company has committed such an offence, it forces the company to return the fees to the workers.
Thereafter, the ministry is committed to protect the employee from any arbitrary action that could be taken by the company.
Besides, the ministry allows the worker to transfer the sponsorship to another employer without the consent of his/her original sponsor.