By SOMAN BABY

A BAHRAINI MP and economist has called on the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) to publish monthly figures of the millions of Bahraini dinars in fees collected from the private sector.

Dr Jassim Hussain said such a move is important to maintain the transparency of the organisation.

“It is estimated that BD60 million to BD70m will be collected by LMRA in terms of work visa fees and monthly levy for expatriate workers every year,” he told the GDN.

“This is just an estimate. The business community, which pays the fees to the LMRA, has the right to know what is the actual revenue and how this money is used.

“We are happy to know that 80 per cent of the amount will be used by the Labour Fund for the training and rehabilitation of Bahrainis.”

Dr Hussain said the move is commendable and Bahrain may be the first country in the Gulf to implement such an innovative project for its nationals.

“However, it is important to publish every month the actual figures involved,” he added.

“Out of an estimated 500,000 workforce in Bahrain, about 370,000 are expatriates. These include about 70,000 foreign maids.

“However, those who work for the government, including the Bahrain Defence Force and the Public Security, are not counted for the contributions to LMRA.

“It is important to know how many are contributing to LMRA and how much is raised through work visa fees and the monthly levy of BD10 each.”

The government estimates that there are about 40,000 illegal workers who do not contribute to LMRA, said Dr Hussain.

“This is again an estimate, and that is why we want the LMRA to publish the figures regularly,” he noted.

“The stakeholders have the right to know about the fate of their contributions.

“Only 20pc of the contributions go to the government treasury, as 80pc is used for the Labour Fund’s training projects.”