The Ministry of Justice has initiated disciplinary action and punished several staff members for their absenteeism, reporting late to the office and not completing the mandatory work hours.

In all 20,000 cases of workers breaking the office moral code of conduct were detected and action initiated against the guilty staff members, a source in the personnel department at the ministry was quoted as saying in the Arabic press.

The source also said over a period of three years, about 130 workers were dismissed from service because of their continued absenteeism without assigning any reason thereof. The employees were sacked, the source said, after the authorities exhausted all sorts of disciplinary actions including a warning that they would lose their jobs in case of repeated violation of the rules.

These 130 employees represent 0.6 percent of the ministry’s total staff strength of 20,000, the source said. Action was initiated against the employees adhering to the minister’s clear cut directives for tough measures to tackle lethargy and negligence.

In his directives, the minister has stressed that the ministry would never tolerate negligent and indisciplined employees. Accordingly, authorities ordered termination of the negligent staff. They have been immediately replaced as well, the source said.

The ministry has taken repeated disciplinary actions against negligent staff over the years: 7,139 employees in 2010, 78,595 in 2011 and 4,971 employees up to this time of the current year.