MANAMA
WORKERS who claim they missed out on pay rises under a government shake-up won a minister’s backing yesterday. The promise came as scores of low-ranking Municipalities and Agriculture Affairs Ministry workers demonstrated outside the ministry complex in Manama.
The minister, Mansoor bin Rajab, went out into the heat to meet them, then invited them into the cool for talks.
DUBAI: Lured by tax-free jobs and cheap living, foreign workers have long gravitated to wealthy Gulf states to earn a better living, but rising costs are now forcing many to go home. Inflation has soared to record or near-record levels across the Gulf region, where migrants ranging from high-paid Western executives to low-wage Asian labourers have formed the backbone of oil-fuelled development since the 1970s.
Already pinched by rising rents and salaries, firms are finding it increasingly hard to recruit staff to countries like the UAE, where wages paid in the dollar-pegged dirham have eroded the value of remittances.
HANDS OFF PASSPORTS!
MANAMA: Bahrain’s bosses were yesterday warned against withholding their expatriate workers’ passports. “Violators will face tough action if they encroach on foreigners’ human and legal inalienable rights,” said Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi yesterday.
Bahrain’s labour laws and International Labour Organisation conventions also ban such a practice, he added.
The increasing number of complaints by expatriate workers has prompted the warning.
“A passport is an official document issued by the country of origin and concerns its holder solely,” he said.
By SOMAN BABY
PEOPLE can now receive training on the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) online services. Authorised personnel from different organisations will be trained on the web services and the Expat Management System (EMS), which has been specially developed for LMRA.
By SOMAN BABY
EXPATRIATES who enrol at the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) festival have been promised legal assistance if they need it.
Thousands of people are shying away from the enrolment festival at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, project manager Hassan Al Rahma said yesterday.
By SOMAN BABY
A TOTAL of 878 passports of Indian nationals are lying unclaimed at the Indian Embassy, it was revealed yesterday. The passports were handed over to the embassy by sponsors after the general amnesty was launched in August last year.
By SOMAN BABY
MANAMA
MORE than 60,000 expatriates registered with the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) during the first 11 days of its enrolment festival, which opened on June 4.
By NOOR TOORANI
MANAMA
A BUSINESSMAN, who was earlier convicted of hiring an expatriate worker illegally, was declared innocent by the High Criminal Appeals Court. The Bahraini man, 56, was fined BD500 by the Lower Criminal Court for illegally hiring the Indian man.
I WOULD like to know about the registration with the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) regarding domestic drivers.
Is it compulsory for them to register? If so, what are the requirements?
A friend of mine who is working at a ministry wants to know whether registration with the LMRA is compulsory for him.
Fazal T P
* AN LMRA spokesman said: “Domestic labour that are under the sponsorship of individuals or families (housemaids, house drivers, etc) will be mandated to complete all LMRA formalities later this year. However, they can still enrol (register) now at our enrolment centre in Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, until June 21.”
We have been forced to sign a letter as follows:
“The employee shall not at any time for a period of one year after leaving the … company, without written approval seeking or obtaining employment or be directly or indirectly involved in any business or company or individual that competes directly or indirectly with the business of …company with the Kingdom of Bahrain.”