As a result of meeting the needs of workers in their places
Decrease in labor lawsuits in Dubai during 2020 despite the repercussions of "Corona"
The Corona crisis posed challenges to the labor court.
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Judge Jamal Al-Jabri: The low index of labor cases translates into an effort made by several parties.
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The head of the Dubai Labor Court, Judge Jamal Al-Jabri, revealed that the labor claims index decreased by 14,703 cases last year, compared to 15,311 in 2019, despite the existence of the emerging corona virus (Covid 19).
Al-Jabri said: “We expected a different and difficult scenario in light of the suffering of the whole world from the repercussions of the Corona virus, but the result was amazing for us,” attributing the reason for the decline to four basic reasons, including: the quick decisions to contain the economic effects, and the exceptional effort of the Permanent Committee for Labor Affairs at the General Administration of Residency. And Foreigners Affairs, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, and the General Administration of Human Rights, in solving workers' problems, meeting their needs in their places, containing collective crises, and facilitating their departure, in addition to achieving early settlements and facilitating litigation procedures.
He stated that the court achieved a good rate in separating labor cases, which reached 102%, as the cases registered during the past year amounted to 14,703 cases, and 14,952 cases were decided, compared to 14,390 during the year 2019, attributing the reason to the technical shift in the chapter Remote litigation, which reduced the wasted time, as well as the work of judges throughout the year, and adjudicated cases from 2019.
Al-Jabri stressed that the index of cases in the first two months of this year is still normal and perhaps less than normal, which confirms the robustness of the measures taken by the state and the success of the efforts made to contain labor disputes and settle them before they reach the courts.
Al-Jabri told "Emirates Today" that the decline in the labor lawsuit index translates into efforts made by several parties, such as the Permanent Committee for Labor Affairs, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, and the General Department for Human Rights in Dubai Police, especially with regard to containing collective crises and reaching early settlements before referring cases to the court. .
He added that he monitored the effort exerted by these parties and found it exceptional on the humanitarian level, despite the tension and fears, and efforts were able to calm the workers, contain them and solve their problems, from providing food for them to reaching financial settlements for their dues.
Al-Jabri pointed out that the Corona crisis imposed challenges on the labor court, including resolving the problem of unfair dismissal, as some employers invoked the closure imposed by the state starting from March 2020, and emphasized their inability to bear the cost of labor in light of the suspension of their activities.
He explained that the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation decision regarding employment stability in private sector establishments had a role in solving part of the problem, as it stipulated the need for the employer to gradually take precautionary measures, and apply the work system "remotely" if this is appropriate, and it is not permissible Moving to the second procedure, and reducing the salaries of employees without their consent. If the remote work system does not fit the nature of the company's work, it moves to the third procedure, which is granting the employee paid leave.
In the event that he does not have available leave balance, he shall be granted unpaid leave, and then move to the fourth and fifth measures, which provide for a temporary or permanent reduction in the monthly wage. “If the two parties do not agree to take the measures issued by the Ministry, it is not permissible for him to take it. .
In the event that he applies the procedures individually without the consent of the workers, the employee or worker may file a complaint.
He added that «the labor court searched for how to deal with cases of unfair dismissal after that under the circumstances of Corona, and reached a fair process result, which is (proof of harm) by the employer, and we divided the companies into two parts: affected by the crisis and a winner from it, and we requested documents and numbers. Proven and not just sent words, to ensure that justice is achieved ».
Al-Jabri stated that one of the challenges that the court overcame and that led to the rise in the index of adjudication of cases was the technical obstacles, so it was difficult at first to convince a judge who used to deal with papers to transfer electronically, considering that this is the most prominent gain of Dubai courts from the "Corona crisis", It accelerated the smart transformation, and instead of waiting until 2121 to implement a paperless court strategy, we were forced to implement it over the past year, and now it is 100% remote working without papers.
He added that Al-Adheed centers played a role in the success of this transformation, as it provided technical and logistical assistance to simple groups of workers, from registering cases to providing halls to attend their sessions in these centers, in light of the poor culture of this group electronically or their lack of the necessary technologies such as phones. Modern or internet.
A challenge and an outcome
The President of the Dubai Labor Court, Judge Jamal Al Jabri, said that “The Director General of Dubai Courts, Tarish Al Mansouri, gave the excuse at the beginning of the application of remote work to the labor court to exclude it from the specified goal, given that it is concerned with examining about 50% of the cases before the Dubai courts And, the files were not 100% electronic, but we started working around the clock until we became fully qualified to work with our full capacity, and the judges took advantage of the closure period in hearing and adjudicating the cases reserved for them, which contributed to the index of adjudication of cases during the past year to 102 % ».
Striking off the case
The President of the Labor Court in Dubai, Judge Jamal Al Jabri, stated that any lawsuit whose parties did not attend its sessions remotely were canceled, pointing out that there was a circular issued at the beginning of the application of remote litigation during the past year after the case was canceled.
Taking into account the obstacles to starting, and people not getting used to this type of session, but there is no longer an excuse now.
He added that the labor court judges now have the choice between working from the court’s headquarters or their homes, and it has also become possible for the parties to the case to attend from anywhere, even from another country, and this in itself is the consolidation of rights and protection for them.
102%
The rate of adjudication of labor cases during the past year.
- The Dubai Labor Court handled 14.7 thousand cases last year.
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