DUBAI // A group of merchant seamen in Pakistan have accused a Dubai shipping company of withholding their pay for six months.
Syed Farhan Ali said he and his colleagues were hired by a recruitment agent in Karachi to work on a ship in Nigeria for six months, preparing it to be taken to India where it was to be sold for scrap.
Mr Ali said the men joined the vessel in three groups, between April and mid-June last year.
"Those who joined at the end of April received two months' salary and those who joined in June received only one month's salary," he said."It was paid in August and September 2011.
"In the last week of December 2011 the owner asked our captain to hand over our passports to an agent in Lagos, Nigeria, where the ship was anchored.They promised us our salaries when we reached the hotel to catch a flight back home. But salaries were never paid."
The seamen have since returned to Pakistan.
"The captain even went to Dubai to talk to the owner and get the salaries, but he has not been cooperating with us," said Mr Ali.
Hafeez Ur Rahman, a chief officer on the ship, said the crew members' families had been living without pay for about 10 months.
"We don't know who to approach or how to solve the matter," said Mr Rahman. "One man's father died because he could not arrange money for his heart surgery."
The owner of the shipping company said the men did not work for his firm and he had nothing to do with the issue.
"We have not recruited anyone to work for our company," he said. "What they are saying is not true."
A document of sale shows the Dubai owner sold the ship in January last year, but the seamen insist it was in his possession for the duration of their employment.
They have approached the International Transport Workers Federation in the UK and Flying Angel, a charitable organisation in Dubai that helps distressed seafarers, to resolve the matter.
Neither organisation could be reached for comment.
frahman@thenational.ae
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Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
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Brescia v Lazio (3.30pm)
SPAL v Verona (6pm)
Genoa v Sassuolo (9pm)
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Bologna v Fiorentina (3.30pm)
AC Milan v Sampdoria (6pm)
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
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The UN General Assembly President in quotes:
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia