By TOM HANRATTY,
EXPATRIATE workers whose visas have been cancelled as part of a crackdown on companies that refuse to pay their labour fees will be offered a one-month grace period.
The Labour Ministry Regulatory Authority (LMRA) has begun annulling the status of staff employed by firms who decline to stump up the controversial BD10 fee.
But LMRA e-services and public relations manager Waheed Al Balushi yesterday revealed that the expats affected would be given the chance to leave the country or find alternative employment.
“Any worker who has their visa cancelled will get one month’s grace period,” said Mr Al Balushi.
“During that month they can then choose to leave the country or find another employer.”
Mr Al Balushi could not indicate how many visas had been cancelled because of the crackdown, but did reveal that no expatriates had yet been deported as a direct result.
He earlier told the GDN that visas for expatriate workers in Bahrain were being cancelled every hour due to the refusal of employers to pay the labour fees.
Introduced last July, it is levied by the LMRA and goes to Tamkeen (formerly the Labour Fund) to support training for Bahrainis and business development but the feeling among the business owners is that this is destroying their livelihoods.

Revoked
Mr Al Balushi admitted there was no official deadline for companies to fulfil the payments but that as soon as three months had lapsed since a company’s last payment, the process of cancelling visas would kick in. It also applies to businesses that fail to renew expired permits or fail to update their files with the LMRA.
The LMRA had previously announced that any company which failed to pay the BD10 monthly charge for each expatriate employee would have all its visas cancelled by May 27, although this was subsequently dropped.