Even white skins are not spared in qatar

Read an interesting article in gulf times

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=215791...

Guard at US base ‘stranded’ in Qatar after being sacked
Published: Wednesday, 30 April, 2008, 02:28 AM Doha Time
By K T Chacko
AN AMERICAN security guard recruited by DynCorp International to serve at the As Sayliyah base has been “stranded” in Qatar for over a year after he was sacked by his employers in April 2007.
Christopher Dupont has since challenged his termination in a Doha court but he has been left with no job and therefore no money to sustain himself. “My daughter in the US had to drop out of college and start working to support me,” he told Gulf Times.
DynCorp International is a US-based private military contractor and aircraft maintenance company, which, according to sources, receives more than 96% of its $2bn in annual revenues from the federal government.
Narrating his plight to Gulf Times, Dupont said he had high hopes when he signed the employment contract with DynCorp International in the US and wanted to serve in Qatar for at least five years.
“But things started to fall apart as I arrived here in October 2006. I was forced to sign an employment contract in which the emoluments were less than what had been promised and agreed in the US.
“One of the major setbacks was the absence of a pension plan which figured prominently in the promises made in the US. There was also a shortfall of about $15,000 in the annual package in the new offer.”
When Gulf Times brought the matter to the notice of DynCorp, a company official rejected their former employee’s claims and said they were completely without merit.
Douglas Ebner, Director of Media Relations, DynCorp International, said: “While we cannot discuss specific details of ongoing litigation before the courts, it should be noted that of seven similar lawsuits filed against us in Qatar, six have been resolved with no finding of fault or liability against DynCorp International. We expect the same conclusion for this case as well.
“DynCorp International has co-operated fully with local judicial institutions in this and in previous cases.
“Although we were under no obligation to do so, we have also provided free housing to the claimant for more than a year in residential property leased by DynCorp International while he pursued his charges.”
Dupont said he decided to go public about the case after the company had made an abortive attempt to throw him out of his accommodation early this week.
The American citizen from Massachussetes said when he approached the US embassy for assistance, mission officials told him they could not help as it was a “civil matter”.
Asked why he had signed a contract which contravened the terms of the contract agreed in the US, he said he had no option but to do so. “The alternative was to buy my own ticket for the return journey home. I had left my job in the US and have a family to support. So I decided to fall in line but in the coming days, I found that my employers squeezed their employees wherever and whenever possible,” he said.
Sharing his experience, he said that upon his arrival, he had to work for 42 days at a stretch without an off day and that too often working 16-hour shifts. “They of course paid for the overtime, but it was again less than what has been agreed upon. Also, it is against the Qatar labour law which stipulates that no worker should be put to work for more than 10 hours a day.”
The American veteran who has 25 years of experience in security duty, including eight years in the US Coastguard, said he along with 11 other US guards approached Qatar’s Labour Department in January 2007, seeking redressal for their grievances.
“After DynCorp refused to pay up as per the advice of the Labour Department, seven of us filed a case in a Doha court in February last year,” he said.
“On April 19, 2007 (a Thursday), DynCorp terminated my service, citing poor conduct unbecoming of my position. No prior notice was served and no written complaints against my conduct had been issued during my near six-month service.
“I was told that I would be flown home on Sunday morning but I went to the court on Sunday and secured an injunction against my deportation.”
According to Dupont, his employers stayed away from receiving the court summons for close to three months and in the meantime “tried to send me out of the country by handing over my passport to the police and reporting me as an absconder”.
After the hearings began, the court appointed an expert in February this year to submit a report on the claims made by the American guard against his employers. He has since then eagerly awaiting the court verdict.
The American national said he had complete faith in Qatar’s judiciary.
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