Average salary increases in Bahrain are set to hit 5.3 per cent this year, according to a report by global consulting firm Hay Group. And at a seminar in the Gulf Hotel yesterday for human resource (HR) specialists, the consultants predicted that there would be continued steady growth in salary levels next year of around [...]
Bahrain’s reforms have established basic rights for migrant labourers in the oil-rich country, and could soon be copied throughout the region Mani Mostofi and his colleagues from Human Rights Watch regularly leave behind the malls and skyscrapers of this oil-rich Persian Gulf capital and venture into the dusty alleys of Manama’s souk, which wealthy Bahrainis [...]
Hundreds of Bahrain companies are being taken to court by the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) for not paying fees. They are also being sued for failing to update their records on the LMRA system, our sister paper Akhbar Al Khaleej reports. A statement from the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Small and Medium-sized [...]
The Indian Embassy yesterday urged illegal workers to take advantage of a newly-introduced campaign by labour and immigration authorities to weed out illegal workers.
The ‘pardon’ campaign was launched on Tuesday by the Labour Market Regulatory Authority and the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence.
One country in the Gulf tries to wean itself off foreign workers THE newly opened Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, is a monument to Dubai’s audacity. It is also a stark illustration of its dependence on foreign labour. Designed by an American, overseen by a New Zealander and built by mostly South Asian labourers, [...]
A scheme to put thousands of jobless Bahraini graduates into work was officially launched yesterday. Fifty-five per cent of those registered unemployed are university graduates, said Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi. Most hold degrees in specialisations for which there is little or no demand in the labour market, he declared at an annual ceremony [...]
A call to combat discrimination in the workplace went out yesterday from Bahrain’s top union leader. Many workers are being denied opportunities or recognition, despite Bahrain’s laws against discrimination, said General Federation for Bahrain Trade Unions secretary-general Salman Al Mahfoodh. “Bahrain is a country that is against discrimination, yet nothing is being done to support [...]
Thirty-Eight workers were killed in worksite accidents in Bahrain last year, up two on 2008. There were 62 serious injuries, compared to 66 in 2008, Labour Ministry occupational health and safety engineer and inspector Hussain Al Shami told the GDN. Most deaths and injuries resulted from workers falling from buildings under construction, being hit by [...]
When Bahrain abolished much of its expatriate sponsorship system this summer, the move sparked an avalanche of protests from the business community. Executives complained that the move would destroy their businesses and turn employees against them. “They said there would be chaos in the market,†says Majeed al Alawi, the labour minister. “But cheap labour [...]
The new law for the sponsorship system for expatriate workers comes into affect in Bahrain today. Announced in May by Labour Minister and Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) chairman Dr Majeed Al Alawi, it allows foreign workers to switch jobs without their existing employer’s consent and will eliminate the free visa practice. The move comes [...]
