https://arab.news/r6ca3
- European employees ‘transferred’ rather than sacked when Rafah offices closed
- Lawyer: This is tantamount to ‘discrimination on the basis of his nationality’
LONDON: The EU is being sued by a Palestinian who lost his job in Gaza after the outbreak of the war.
Mohammed Baraka worked in Rafah at the EU border assistance mission, where he had been employed since 2006.
He was evacuated to Cairo after the outbreak of the conflict in October 2023, but was dismissed this year after the EU decided to close its Rafah offices permanently.
Baraka is taking the bloc to court in Belgium on the grounds that European EUBam employees from Rafah “were transferred elsewhere” rather than dismissed.
His lawyer Selma Benkhelifa said this is tantamount to “discrimination on the basis of his nationality.”
In a submission to the court, Benkhelifa said Baraka “does not criticise the decision to close the Rafah office” as “the security situation justifies this.”
However, Baraka said he was employed under Belgian law and was handed rolling one-year contracts, which breaches Belgian legislation that states rolling roles must be made permanent after three consecutive years. He added that he is bringing the case to address the “injustice” he suffered as a result.
The lawsuit states: “A provision that allows an employer to renew fixed-term contracts is contrary to Belgian and European public policy.”
It adds: “It is shocking to note that a European institution is circumventing public policy provisions intended to protect workers. The applicant’s contract must be reclassified as a permanent contract.”
Baraka said: “During the first days of the war in Gaza, I was, like all other residents of Gaza, facing an unknown and frightening fate.
“When I was offered evacuation by the EU to a safe place, as an EU employee who had served for 20 years, I accepted the offer.
“But had I known that my fate would be dismissal from my job and being left in a place with no residence or basic human rights, I would have never agreed to it. None of this was explained to me beforehand.”