Pharmacies' profits set to be capped - Gulf Daily News

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Gulf Daily News
Thursday, 14th March 2013 7
Bahrain Air sued
l 34 former staff file claims for compensation
THIRTY-FOUR former
By Noor Zahra not have enough cash to give their children’s studies. credit cards frozen and been
Bahrain Air staff have taken
us our legal rights according However, another employee denied access to their personal
legal action against the air- worked for the carrier. to the law.
told judges yesterday that staff bank accounts as part of conline,
demanding compensa- However, the group told “We were selling tickets to members wanted to be comtroversial measures imposed by
tion for losing their jobs. judges yesterday they expected customers and all of a sudden pensated financially and for the financial institutions.
The claim was lodged at the to receive a month’s pay for the airline told us that they are psychological damage.
The measures, which were
High Civil Court by the group, every year they worked at the now not in business.”
“We lost our jobs, and now taken to prevent people run-
which includes pilots, cabin airline.
Airline staff are also due to we lodged this compensation ning up debts and leaving the
crew, administrative employees, “We expected to receive 30 receive compensation for their claim because we are suffer- country, are only due to be
sales staff and management. days’ pay for every year we notice period and leave until ing financially and psychologi- lifted once former airline staff
It comes just over a month worked for the carrier and not the end of February 12, while cally,” he said.
have paid off outstanding loans
after the airline announced it 24, and we were not given a expatriate employees will An airline representative told – for which they still have to
was filing for voluntary liqui- notice period before the airline receive their indemnity pay- the court the liquidation was make repayments.
dation on February 12, when decided to go into liquidation,” ments, according to the Bahrain filed because the company was The liquidator han-
it immediately suspended all said a saleswoman in court. Air Trade Union (BATU). facing financial troubles. dling Bahrain Air, Mourad
operations.
“We also expected to get In addition, foreign staff Judges adjourned the case Consultancy, told the BATU
The airline earlier confirmed six months’ pay and not three with children will not have until March 20 for review. during an earlier meeting that
that former staff will get 24 months.
their visas cancelled until the The GDN earlier reported the payment has been approved
days’ pay for every year they “The airline said they did summer to avoid disrupting that former staff have had their by shareholders and will be
given as soon as the shareholders
release the funds, but no
Fraud suspects Six face trial for Eker attack one has received their package
to date.
Also, the airline is being
appear in court
reportedly sued for at least
THREE Bahrain Olympic
Committee (BOC) employees
appeared in court for the first
time yesterday in connection with
embezzling and forging official
documents.
They have been charged with
financial fraud, abusing their positions
to misappropriate BOC funds,
forging offers and attributing them
to fictitious companies.
However, they pleaded not
guilty at the Lower Criminal Court.
The Public Prosecution launched
an investigation following a complaint
against the suspects by the
BOC.
It ordered a forgery expert to
examine the falsified documents
and submit a comprehensive
report for legal procedures to be
initiated.
The trial was adjourned until
April 30 for review.
SIX men appeared in court for
By Noor ZAhrA
the second time yesterday in connection
with an attack on police- ter in a police vehicle in Eker
men, which killed one officer and last October, according to court
seriously injured another. documents.
The Bahrainis, aged between They have also been accused of
21 and 28, have been accused participating in an illegal gather-
of attempted assault, arson and
ing in Eker. One of
possessing Molotov
the defendants yester-
cocktails.
day collapsed at the
Eighteen other men
are being tried in absen-
High Criminal Court,
tia in connection with
and his lawyer Jassim
the attack, including
Sarhan told judges his
three charged with pre-
client suffered from
meditated murder over
epilepsy.
the death of 19-year-
Mr Sarhan requestold
policeman Imran
ed his client be sent
Ahmed Mohammed –
to hospital and not
who was killed by an
attend further court
explosive projectile. n Mr Mohammed hearings.
All 24 men alleg-
Judges accepted
edly hurled Molotov cocktails and adjourned the case until
and metal rods at policemen March 25 to appoint lawyers for
who were forced to take shel- the other suspects. A video of
the attack posted on the Internet
shows a Molotov cocktail narrowly
missing Mr Mohammed,
before he was killed by an explosive
projectile that he bent down
to pick up.
BD2 million by Bahrain
Airport Services (BAS), the
company responsible for providing
its catering, cargo,
engineering and other ground
handling services at Bahrain
International Airport.
The claim was lodged with the
High Civil Court on March 4.
However, sources earlier
said that Bahrain Air had not
paid BAS for its services for
years.
The carrier, which is said
to have run up debts of more
than BD17m to the government,
has blamed the unstable
political and security
situation in Bahrain since
2011 for severely damaging its
business.
It highlighted instructions to
suspend flights to key destinations,
a lack of traffic to
and from Bahrain as well as
restrictions on the King Fahad
Causeway as factors that significantly
dented its revenues.
The airline also claimed
authorities had reduced its
scheduled operations, both
destinations and frequencies,
while demanding immediate
payments on past government
debts – making it impossible to
continue operations.
noorz@gdn.com.bh