An Emirati aviation engineer is suing a local airline for Dh125 million for ending his services after accusing him of theft, the press said Sunday.
Faisal Mohammed Al Zaidi has filed a complaint to the labour court at the ministry of labour demanding that the company pay him Dh125 million and reinstate him to his job after what he described as its “arbitrary” decision, the Arabic language newspaper Emarat Al Youm said in a report from Abu Dhabi.
The paper did not identify the carrier but said it had suspended the engineer for 10 months before sacking him, accusing him of theft and impersonating.
The paper said the labour court considered the case and adjourned hearings on May 2 at the request of the company’s lawyer.
It quoted a source at the ministry of labour as saying that the legal section at the ministry referred the case to the labour court after failing to reach agreement between Zaidi and the company’s lawyer.
“Zaidi is demanding defamation damages after the company accused him of stealing and impersonating without investigation or any evidence…he is also demanding compensation for a 10-month arbitrary suspension without any reason and without taking the legal measures prescribed in the company’s law and the federal labour law,” the paper said.
“He is also demanding compensation for the company’s abrupt decision to end his services and prevent him from traveling, which resulted in a delay in the completion of his doctorate study in Germany.”
The company had told the labour court that the engineer had impersonated an employee at the Abu Dhabi Auditing Authority to get access to a file about an important project implemented by the company. It also told court that he had revealed company secrets, prompting it to suspend him for interrogation.
“The company said the engineer refused to report to its office to end his services, prompting it to sack him…it said he also refused to receive the termination letter but added that it would give him end of service allowances.”
Quoted by Emarat Al Youm, Zaidi said he had worked for that company since 2008 as an area manager, adding that he is holder of aviation mechanics degree from Japan. He said he is the first Emirati in this field to speak Japanese fluently and that he had represented the UAE in several aviation meetings worldwide.
“Last May, I received a letter from the company suspending my services and banning me from travel…there was no reason for the decision and I was not investigated six months after I received that letter,” he said.
Zaidi said he then received a letter from the ambassador of a European country saying a delegation from his country wants to visit the company headquarters.
“The company then suspended my e mail to stop me from contacting any one…they also prevented me from travelling to Germany to complete my doctorate studies, which cost me nearly Dh3 million.”
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