WPS facility a must for renewal of trade licence

The Ministry of Labour refused to renew the trade licence of a company owned by a UAE citizen and specialised in recruiting housemaids because it is not involved in the Wages Protection System (WPS).

It also rejected the request of an investor to cancel the six-month ban imposed on her based on the ministry’s data that proved she is an employee in another establishment.

The decisions were taken during the weekly meeting of the Ministry of Labour.

Humaid bin Dimas, Executive Director of Labour Affairs at the Ministry of Labour, said: “Due to the novelty of the WPS, some owners of small enterprises are still paying salaries through the traditional way, and it will take some time before they get used to the new system.

He said regarding the second case the woman is an investor and her data in the register of the ministry still shows her as an employee. She wants to remove the six-month ban imposed on her and that she was supposed to have her residence visa from the department of naturalisation according to laws and regulations.

Bin Dimas said: “According to the person’s data she is an employee and not an investor, which led to the refusal of her request. When she got the commercial licence she was supposed to rectify her situation from employee to owner, and therefore should have a residence permit issued by the Department of Naturalisation and Residency as an investor.”

The committee also referred the request submitted by a sponsor seeking to transfer the sponsorship of two labourers working in his establishment to another company of which he owns 90 per cent to the Legal Affairs Committee to review the extent of the partnership between the two companies.

Bin Dimas added the law allows transferring of a worker’s sponsorship from one company to another as long as there are unified partners in both companies.

The committee also referred the complaint by a friend of a worker who was arrested at the airport on his return from Jordan because there was an absconding report from his sponsor while he is jailed in Al Aweer prison.

The friend requested the cancellation of the absconding report against his friend, which was referred to the Committee for Legal Affairs.

Bin Dimas said: “According to the data of the passport of the labourer he used to travel a lot that indicates the absence of their working relationship. The residence visa of the labourer is bogus, and the law imposes a one-year ban on a worker found holding a bogus residence visa.”

He said it is clear that there was some kind of business agreement between the sponsor and the laborer. A dispute arose between them in their computer trade and both the sponsor and the labourer are working there, even the friend who wants to guarantee the labourer.

He said because of the dispute the sponsor cancelled the visa of the labourer and reported him as absconding that led to his arrest at the airport.

Bin Dimas said that both sides are wrong and such traders are undesirable in the UAE labour market.

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