Erring firms may face MoL action

Obaid Rashid Al Zahmi, assistant under-secretary at the MoL, said, "The ministry found only three agencies bringing workers into the country which are licensed by the MoL. The licensed agencies include Mohammed Al Mansouri Service Agency, Al Negoum General Services Company and Bin Habib Group."

The ministry has visited six agencies. The ministry will take stringent action against job agencies violating the law.

"We found that two agencies were working without licences. Some companies had even stopped its operations, but they are still holding licences," said Al Zahmi.

The penalties for violating the law include suspending the firm's code for six months and imposition of a fine of Dh10,000.

MoL inspection teams also visited some private schools in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain to check whether they are violating labour laws.

"During the inspection visits, it was discovered that two schools were recruiting illegal teachers and workers," said Al Zahmi.

"For instance, a school recruited 89 employees. Only nine of them were sponsored by the school while 29 labourers work without labour cards and were registered on their relatives' sponsorships," he added.

The MoL and the Ministry of Education have given two months' grace period to the schools to settle the issues.

Nabil Saleh Al Dhaheri, Director of the Al Ain Education Zone, told Khaleej Times that it would launch campaigns against private schools violating labour laws in cooperation with the MoL.