Subject: Harassment and false case
Date: 23 March, 2021
I am AJ, staying with my family with two kids in Qatar. I had been working 2008 to 2020 in Exblowra Trading and Contracting Co (Est Number 10608000).
My contract expired in April 2020. On 4 November 2020, I applied for an employer change and was approved. Once I applied for employer change, my current company started to threaten me, saying that as per company policy, we will never allow you to be here in Qatar peacefully at any cost by putting fabricated cases against you again and again.
My employer change approval got cancelled without any reason. Then I made a complaint to the labour department to get back my confiscated passport, my family passport, and education certificates. Then I got all my passports and certificates through the Capital police station.
Now the third time I got an employer change approval from ADLSA and I am on notice period until 2 May 2021. I made a labour complaint in ADLSA on 3 January 2021 and on 4 January 2021 the company PRO (mandoop/public relations officer) and I met the labour officer. The PRO told the officer that I had a case and provided a wrong case number — when I checked the number there was no such case filed. The complaint was transferred to labour court.. But it has been two and half months, and there is no call has come from the Labor Court.
After the PRO met me and lied to Labour officer in Labor Department, the company started giving false cases:
Case No 1 : Company put a false escape complaint in CIED on 4th January 2021 evening and I got [caught] by police. I was inside the jail for 8 days then I got a judgement stating I am innocent.
Case No 2 : Company filed a criminal case for QR 4 Million against me and the police put me in jail for 15 days. Now I am on bail with a travel ban.
Case No 3 : Now the Company again filed a civil case against me for QR1.5 Million.
This is the highest level of harassment and human rights violation. They are carrying out the threat they gave me.
Exblowra is also not following any government rules. They keep office staff WPS (wage protection system) cards and give cash salary without any proof. They also don’t give a contract copy to employees.
After my complaint, they returned passports to employees, they still hold the passports of workers. They also don’t give proper leave salary or end of service benefits.
The company gives the passports to CIED with an escape (absconding) complaint if anybody makes a labour complaint like me to the labour department.
Excerpts from the response from Exblowra
16 April 2021
We have excellent track records for the past two decades for the salary on time irrespective of the market conditions and company's performance. Currently, we are having 1500+ workers in the company and we strictly adhere to standards set by the Ministry. We felt bad to receive false accusations on WPS and pay. Your welfare team members are most welcome to visit our workers accommodation in Asian Town City, Abu Nakhla and Abu Hamour to enquire on the same. We cannot play with the government system with 1000+ workforce. You are welcome to visit our office to verify the transactions and adherence to the WPS system. We had even implemented the new wages policy earlier in Jan 2021 which is suppose to be implemented in March 2021.
We do give NOC to workers on their request and reasons. For your reference, Please find the attached couple of NOC letters issued recently on request by the employees in spite of non completion on contract period. We don’t give NOC only to the employees who failed in handing over the Knowledge transition and official records maintained by them. We firmly believe that it’s an organization's right to adhere the above said statement.
In the past 12 years till December 2020, we didn't file any cases against any employees. Many of our employees have moved out smoothly and they are working and prospering in Qatar(even running companies successfully) and many places across the world. We are happy to see our ex employees progress. Couple of years back we had a huge fall in terms of performance and financial stability. Looking into the reasons, we identified that the fall was gradually happening over years and it happened due to the mismanagement and siphoning of funds. The top management were not continuously in the country for many years due to family health issues. After this fall, they stayed back and We concentrated on stabilizing the company performance with priority to ensure the welfare and job security of the employees. We gave ample of amount time to the two employees whom were involved in the mismanagement of funds to respond. Even we paid them irrespective of their poor attitude and ethics to ensure their families in Qatar are taken care of on humanitarian grounds. We have evidence for the same and the records on poor receivables for the company during their time. Recently we came to know that two people started a similar company in one of their wife's name in 2018 and running the operations behind the screen with the CR No. 117607 (An and Am Trading and Contracting Services).
Note from MR: As per current Qatar law reforms, no NOC requirement exists.
Excerpt of the response from AJ
17 April, 2021
As per evidence submitted to you, it clearly shows they started false allegations after my employer change approval. I applied for employer change on 4 November 2020. Before this date 4th November 2020 they had no allegation.
Only after I requested my end of service in ADLSA,
They met me and lied and gave the wrong case number to the labour department on 4t January 2021 state that I had a case. But until 4 January 2021 I never had any case against me. They started putting these cases after I demanded my 13 years end of service benefits through ADLSA.
Also, they don't want me to be here, that’s what they gave false absconding complaint, and when I succeeded from an absconding complaint they started to give criminal case.
Questions remain, on why they refused to give passports and certificate?
Why they cancelled my job change?
Why they lied to labour department I had case?
Why they put absconding case?
Why they first put a criminal case of QR 4 million and again why now QR2 million civil case?
