How workers disputes in Yemen are solved? [Archives:2002/38/Business & Economy]

BY MAHYOUB AL-KAMALI
YEMEN TIMES STAFF
Disputes between workers and employers in Yemen are solved, is the question raised in the Yemeni labor market due to the cruelty, suffering and deprivation the workers are exposed to in violation of guarantees stipulated in human rights conventions and international and Arab labor agreements that have defined certain legal rules for solving labor problems.
Labor law in Yemen No. 5 for 1995 has stipulated a number of legal measures and securities guaranteeing workers rights through arbitrary committees set up by the ministry of social affairs and labor. These committees consider legal breaches and verified infringements in accordance with the nature of labor problems. These problems are:
-Arbitrary discharge of workers without granting them their accruals,
-Deducting of illegal installments from employees’ wages,
-Deduction from bonuses, leaves and dues of industrial injuries,
-Pensioning off workers before reaching the legal age for retirement.
Thus the arbitration committees would reconsider the cases of labor disputes and examine complaints offered to them at the ministry’s departments in the governorates. The committees would decide certain solutions for the problems according to regulations of labor law or through proposing suggestions for settling the dispute in a manner acceptable by both workers and employers.
A report issued by Planning and Statistics Administration at the ministry of social affairs and labor made it clear that the number of complaints and labor disputes presented to arbitrary committees in the governorates in 2001 amounted to 1917 cases aroused between employees and employers. The report mentioned that the committees had in a friendly way solved 1471 cases.
The main issues of dispute, arranged according to number of cases, are those related to discharge from jobs, pensioning off before the legal age, wages, deduction of installments, delay in paying wages and industrial injuries. From this report it could be deduced that labor disputes at free labor market are of small proportion because workers prefer to settle their disputes with employers through police stations rather than through committees of the ministry of social affairs and labor.
Disputes in the private sector jobs are solved according to work contracts concluded between employers and employees and very few cases are reported to arbitration committees or police stations. Majority of workers complaints against employers center on extra working hours, non-protection of workers against injuries and risks of jobs, arbitrary discharge from employment and not providing of healthy labor circumstances and that usually lead to imbalance in production.
Yemeni labor market does need activation of the labor law and solving disputes by ways guaranteeing to both parties their rights and duties in an equal manner.


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