Security guard seeks protection from boss

ABU DHABI — An Asian security guard has appealed to the UAE authorities to provide him protection against his boss, a retired colonel from Pakistan army, who allegedly threatened of dire consequences if the former informed the police about conditions in the labour camp.

By Nada S.mussallam

Published: Fri 25 Feb 2005, 11:05 AM

Last updated: Thu 2 Apr 2015, 3:36 PM

"He has threatened he would get me, if not in the UAE, then at home," alleged Ansar Mubarak, a 24-year-old Pakistani working for West Coast Cleaning and Environment Establishment (WCCES).

"I want protection from the UAE authorities here as well as in Pakistan. If anything happens to me, it would be because of this man," said a visibly frightened Ansar Mubarak who hails from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir.

Mubarak was recruited by Al Sadaf Traders, Overseas Employment Promoters in Pakistan and Abdul Qayyom Abbassi, a retired colonel from the Pakistani army to work as a security guard in the UAE.

He said Abbassi, Manager of the WCCES, received him at the Abu Dhabi International Airport on April 10 last year with eight other labourers. "I handed over to him the same day an amount of Dh45,000 from the employment agent in Pakistan who trusted me and asked me to deliver the money to the manger, which I think was for employment visa," Mubarak said.

He said the company appointed him as a camp manager and was given the key to the camp in Murrur to supervise 189 labourers. He claimed the problem erupted when Abbassi began to resent his growing relationship with the general manager of the company. "I used to discuss with the general manager problems facing the camp and the labourers. This, I think, made Abbassi mad at me," he said, adding that the friction between the two peaked when Abbassi accused him of parting with information about the company to the police.

"The manager fired me without prior notice and threatened to take revenge either here or in Pakistan. He asked for my passport and told me to consider my visa cancelled," claimed Mubarak, adding: "Fortunately, I had my passport with me and I lodged it with Private Security Business Section (PSBS)".

Mubarak filed a complaint with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs on February 19 demanding one month and 20 days salary, compensation in lieu of notice and Dh8500 he claimed he had paid for the visa. The ministry has said it would give its verdict on the case after further probe into the complaint.

When contacted by Khaleej Times, Abbassi denied the labourer's allegations and said he had never threatened him. "I never threatened him. When I took over as manager of security guards, I came to know that Mubarak had retained both the passport and the labour card with him."

He said Mubarak refused to hand over either of the documents, left the camp and complained to police. "The police asked him to hand over the labour card to me, but since then, he has not come to the camp," Abbassi claimed.