By MOHAMMED AL A’ALI
LABOUR Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi yesterday assured Bahrain’s workforce that all efforts are being exerted to ensure the availability of jobs despite the global financial crisis.
“The unemployment ghost will continue haunting us, as it does other countries due to the financial crisis the world is going through,” he said.
“However, here in Bahrain we are doing our best to ensure that none is made jobless because of it.
“We are trying our best to keep unemployment levels at their lowest, despite the external and changeable factors affecting the market.
“At the moment the ministry is working with other authorities concerned to solve problems facing jobless university graduates.”
Dr Al Alawi was speaking at the 24th honouring ceremony for outstanding private sector employees, held under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad.
A total of 111 private sector employees, 18 leading entrepreneurs and companies and six pioneers were honoured at the event at the Crowne Plaza.
The minister said that the government was keen to tackle unemployment issues in a transparent manner.
He said that it has been announcing monthly unemployment figures.
“This is in line with directives from the country’s leadership, who clearly believe that the road to solving the unemployment problem is through addressing it openly,” said Dr Al Alawi.
He said that his ministry was also working to improve services provided at its employment centres.
“Improving unions’ work will also certainly help improve their contributions, which is what we are aiming for in co-operation with our partners, the Bahrain Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the General Federation for Bahrain Trade Unions.
“However, this wouldn’t be achieved without the presence of a healthy work environment, which can attract Bahrainis, who would feel secure and safe, thus contribute in the best way possible to the development of the establishment.”
Dr Al Alawi said that plans to improve benefits offered under unemployment scheme would be announced soon.
“We are planning to carry out a study on how to improve the project early next year,” he said.
The minister thanked the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) and the Labour Fund for their contributions to improve the labour market.
“We should work on the improvement of training of those wishing to progress in their jobs and offer vocational rehabilitation for the market’s newcomers, as well as further upgrade the Bahrain Training Institute (BTI),” he said.
Dr Al Alawi said that the government would do its best to improve wages and incentives in co-ordination with employers.
“The labour market is a triangle between the government, the businessmen and the workers and for it to succeed, the contribution of all three is necessary,” he said.
Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Dr Easam Fakhro said that all parties concerned should work together to survive the effects of the global financial crisis.
“The crisis is expected to continue next year, but things are set to improve in 2010, which is something that we believe,” he said.
“We are worried as businessmen that the local market would be affected and our trusted local workforce too.
“Unemployment rates have reached 8.3 per cent, which we believe is a normal rate compared to other countries, but for it to drop or stay stable a lot has to be done.
“We should stand together in the face of the financial crisis, with a thorough vision on how to overcome it.”
He said that the GCC Chambers of Commerce Federation has been asked to meet and discuss ways to reduce the effects of the crisis on businesses and protect Gulf markets in the future.
Dr Fakhro said that businessmen were worried that the introduction of certain new restrictions would force the market to face unexpected obstacles.
“Business all around the world is being carried out in a transparent manner without any limits and we hope that Bahrain will never resort to those measures, because they will harm the market rather than protect it,” he said.
Dr Fakhro said that safety was an issue that Bahrain should take care of, as many workers lost their lives tragically at worksites.
“It is not just their camps, which are not up to standards, but their working environment too and it is something dangerous that has to be addressed,” he said.
“The chamber backs government plans to form a new government vocational safety and health authority, which will certainly help ensure that workers’ health and safety are protected as well as standards are fulfilled by employers.”
General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions secretary-general Salman Al Mahfoodh said that celebrations were not complete, as outstanding government employees were being left out.
“Being outstanding should not be differentiated between government and private sector employees and I don’t know until when they will be left out from such celebrations,” he said.
“On the other hand, some government and private sector establishments have gone to unprecedented levels, by sacking or making employees’ lives difficult for saying the truth or expressing their opinion.
“Employers should start differentiating that political alliances are different from job contributions and that everyone is entitled to believe in what he wants, if it doesn’t affect his work.”
Mr Al Mahfoodh said assurances that the global financial crisis didn’t affect Bahrain were wrong, as banks have started sacking Bahraini employees.
“Instead of sacking them during the bad conditions Bahrain and the world is going through, there should have been some humane and social feeling that cutting their source of income means feeding them to the crisis as sacrifices,” he said.
“We are happy, however, with the government’s efforts to help people find employment and giving the unemployed insurance until they get jobs.”
Mr Al Mahfoodh said that the Bahraini employment offices opened around the GCC were solutions to a non-existing problem.
“It should be easy to remove expatriates, who are unjustifiably taking the place of Bahrainis.
“Why take a long way, while the short way, which is more effective, is available?
“We hope that those employed in the GCC get treated as their counterparts and given the same benefits.”
Mr Al Mahfoodh said that it was time for the disabled to get jobs that were in line with their capabilities rather than being given jobs that were below their potential or difficult to do.
“The disabled have different disabilities and should be treated accordingly, but what’s happening is that all disabled are considered the same.”
Mr Al Mahfoodh said that incorporating women in the labour market was a must, considering that out of the unemployed, 60pc were women.
“But, we are not convinced with new directives to have two females counted as one male, which is was the ministry is currently doing.”
United Stainless Steel Company executive secretary Hannan Mohammed, speaking on behalf of the honourees, thanked all those concerned for their efforts to solve the unemployment problem.
“We are happy with the government approach of helping the jobless through the insurance scheme, training and rehabilitation and other projects,” he said.The event also included an operetta performed by students from the Bahraini-Saudi Institute for the Blind.
Top labour officials then presented the outstanding employees, entrepreneurs, companies and pioneers with their awards.
Alaali@gdn.com.bh