A MONTHLY tax on Bahraini fishermen recruiting foreign crews has been frozen for three months, it was revealed yesterday.

The suspension of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) fee of BD10 per month per worker followed a meeting between fishermen and LMRA yesterday.

The LMRA has also agreed to allow fishermen to renew their foreign workers’ residence permits free.

A special counter will be earmarked for them at the LMRA headquarters in Sanabis to speed up procedures.

LMRA chief executive officer Ali Radhi told the GDN that fishermen have already started to renew their workers’ permits.

Labour Minister and LMRA chairman Dr Majeed Al Alawi announced last week that professional fishermen would be issued new work permits as an interim measure.

“This is until a permanent solution is found to fishermen’s problems,” said Mr Radhi.

He said the meeting followed directives from Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and a Cabinet decision last month.

“We are doing everything to ease the procedures for them,” he added.

Fishermen’s Protection Society honorary president Waheed Al Dossary told the GDN that the fishermen were hopeful that a solution will be found soon.

“I am hopeful that our problems will be solved and demands met, this is a first step,” he said.

“Now we can renew our workers’ permits at least without any hassles.”

More than 1,700 fishermen staged a six-day nationwide strike last month, demanding protection for their livelihoods and compensation for lost earnings due to massive land reclamation.

MPs voted in favour of excluding fishermen from paying monthly fees on expat workers last month.

That money goes into a fund to train unemployed Bahrainis, but MPs approved an urgent proposal to waive those fees for fishermen during their session on February 17.