More than 700 Abu Dhabi workers receive Dh26 million in unpaid wages

Court ruling ends a pay dispute that lingered for more than a year

More than 700 Abu Dhabi workers have received Dh26 million in unpaid wages through the emirate's mobile court. Courtesy: Abu Dhabi Judicial Department.

Justice has been served for more than 1,000 Abu Dhabi workers celebrating a Dh40 million payout after a bitter dispute with their employer that lasted more than a year.

The embattled staff - including cooks, waiters, administrators and drivers - were left in limbo when the catering company they worked for stopped paying their wages due to financial troubles in 2018.

Abu Dhabi Judicial Department stepped in when it discovered executive directors at the company - the name of which has not been disclosed - absconded and took large amounts of cash with them.

ADJD's mobile court, a bus that travels from area to area to resolve labour disputes, rolled in to ensure the wheels of justice moved smoothly.

Last February, more than 400 workers received Dh3m in unpaid wages, with hundreds more sharing Dh10m after a court ruling in September.

Now the remaining 762 staff have recovered Dh26m, bringing into an end their legal fight.

“We gave priority to the lowest-level workers from a humanitarian perspective,” said Abdulla Al Nuaimi, head of the Abu Dhabi Labour Court.

Those who were owed between Dh1,000 and Dh50,000 were paid first.

“Then we paid those who were owed between Dh50,000 and Dh100,000 and above,” he said.

The payments were made in stages as the court could not retrieve all of the due amounts at once.

Thousands of labourers have had their cases settled through the double-decker bus court since it launched in 2016.