UAE to life ban drivers with forged licenses

Dubai, Oct 11 (UNI) Drivers who forge driving licences from their country of origin to obtain a work permit in the Emirate may face life ban, announced the Minister of Labour here.

Some 679 of 3,260 driving licences, more than 47 per cent of fake licences were issued in Pakistan followed by Saudi Arabia with 19 per cent and India with 17 per cent, according to statistics A ministerial decision, expected to come out after the Eid holidays, will stipulate that workers who submit forged driving lic-ences to acquire work permits as drivers will get a lifetime ban, said Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi, Minister of Labour.

''To submit forged documents to a governmental body is a serious crime and therefore fierce measures will be taken against those who commit such violations,'' said Al Ka'abi.

The ministry will issue directive to the companies that have employed these workers to cancel their work permits, otherwise they will have their transactions stopped at the ministry, according to Al Ka'abi, reported Gulf News.

The Ministry of Labour had initiated a drive last May to check the authenticity of all driving licences submitted by drivers and found that more than 20 per cent of those submitted were forged. .

Licences were submitted for scrutiny by more than 50 companies across the country. Lic-ences for heavy machinery made up the bulk of the fake driving licences, according to the report.

UNI