THE Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) received 5,542 applications in the first three days, after it took over the responsibility of issuing work visas for expats last Tuesday.
Out of these 1,594 were submitted online, said LMRA e-services and public relations manager Waheed Al Balushi.
By SOMAN BABY
MANAMA
A CAMPAIGN to reduce the waiting time to issue identification (ID) cards for Bahrainis and CPR cards for expatriates has paid off, it has been revealed. The cards are now being issued five times faster, said Central Informatics Organisation (CIO) president Mohammed Al Amer.
By GEOFFREY BEW
MANAMA: Record number of Indians are living and working in Bahrain, it has emerged.
Indian Ambassador Balkrishna Shetty yesterday confirmed the population had now reached 290,000, with around 5,000 people arriving every month.
By GEOFFREY BEW
TWO manpower agencies will be reported to the Labour Ministry for allegedly abusing housemaids, it emerged yesterday. It follows two cases in which one maid was allegedly made to strip naked and then beaten all over her body and face with a slipper, while another was allegedly threatened with rape.
New labour clamp
By SOMAN BABY
A NATIONWIDE inspection of workplaces was started yesterday by the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) to ensure all expats are legally employed. Seventy LMRA inspectors, using hi-tech equipment, are inspecting work places to eliminate any illegal practices in the labour market, said officials.
By SOMAN BABY
MANAMA: Bahrain’s unemployment rate has dropped from 16.5 per cent to three per cent in three years, Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi revealed yesterday.
The number of unemployed Bahrainis now stands at 4,065, he told a Press conference at the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) headquarters in Sanabis yesterday.
MANAMA: Ahli United Bank (AUB) and Bahrain’s Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) have announced a joint agreement to open an AUB office at the LMRA’s Sanabis headquarters.
Under the terms of the agreement which was signed by LMRA chief executive officer Ali Ahmed Radhi and AUB senior deputy group chief executive officer Michael Collis, a dedicated AUB office within LMRA’s premises will be responsible for the collection of all service fees paid to the LMRA at the headquarters beginning today.
By SOMAN BABY
MANAMA
THE Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) will officially start accepting applications for issuing new work visas for expatriates from tomorrow, taking over from the Labour Ministry. Only those private sector employers, who have cleansed the data of their employees with LMRA, can apply for work visas for their new workers, LMRA chief executive Ali Radhi told the GDN.
WITH reference to Ajeetha’s letter (GDN, June 23), she has rightly pointed out about employers ignoring the law and still keeping their employees’ passports, as if it is their birthright.
The problem in Bahrain is not the law, it is law enforcement. Employers, especially Bahraini companies, feel they can get away with anything due to a few contacts they may have at the Labour Ministry.
MANAMA
THE government must introduce a minimum wage for all expatriates to safeguard the rights of Bahrain’s foreign labour force, say human rights activists.
BHRS adviser Abdulnabi Al Ekri said employers continue to treat expatriate workers like “slaves”, paying them BD50 a month and forcing them to work seven days a week.