By BEGENA P PRADEEP
NEW labour laws are driving up the cost of employment visas sold on the black market, the GDN has learned.
Expats desperate to find work in the Gulf are reportedly paying up to BD2,000 for visas, compared to BD1,000 a few years ago.
Expats rush to LMRA centre
By MANDEEP SINGH
HUNDREDS of expatriate workers flocked to a Labour Market Regulatory Authority fingerprinting centre yesterday, some as early as 4am, only to be turned away by noon.
The rush at the centre in Sanabis, one of four set up by the authority across the country, came as a deadline for expatriates to register before July 1 draws near.
By SOMAN BABY
THE Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) yesterday appointed the Strategic Publicity and Advertising Company (SPAC), which operates the Asian radio channel Voice FM 104.2, as its strategic media partner.
LMRA chief executive Ali Radhi signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Voice FM chairman P Unnikrishnan.
EXPATRIATES who have not yet registered with the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) were yesterday told not to panic following a major rush at its centres.
The LMRA plans to hold an enrolment festival next month and urged expatriates not to pile into its already-crowded four registration centres.
MANAMA
THE Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) won two of the eight awards for government ministries and organisations, presented at the opening of the Bahrain International e-Government Forum last night. The LMRA won the awards in the E-Maturity and E-Content categories.
The awards were presented by Deputy Prime Minister and Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) chairman Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa.
By Soman Baby
MANAMA
COMPANIES are still lagging behind in providing up-to-date information on their expatriate workers to labour authorities, it was revealed yesterday. Sixty three per cent of companies and other employers in Bahrain have registered with the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA).
By MOHAMMED AL A’ ALI
A NEW law restricting the number of occupants in labour accommodation as well as further improving safety standards could soon be implemented in the Central Governorate.
It is currently being drafted by the Central Municipal Council, which says that it wants to ensure that labourers, who currently number up to 50 in each accommodation, are out of harms way.
By GEOFFREY BEW
BAHRAINIS have nothing to fear about the continuing influx of migrant workers to the country, a leading Pakistani researcher said yesterday.
Dr Ijaz Shafi Gilani, who served as an adviser to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from 1991 to 1993, said the perception that expatriates were a threat to national culture and job security was mistaken.
MANAMA: Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi yesterday said that he was seeking alternatives to Indian labour. He revealed that his recent tour of Asian countries was aimed at exploring new labour recruitment opportunities. Dr Al Alawi said that the ministry started implementing BD230 minimum wages for jobseekers, with a hope of increasing to BD300. He pointed out that BD30 millions in unemployment benefits funds are spent monthly, denying report of the benefit stoppage.
By Begena P pPradeep
An Indian man was allegedly being held hostage by his Bahraini sponsor last night for filing a complaint against him at the Indian Embassy.
The 39-year-old, who has been working for three years at an aluminium workshop in Salmabad, was said to have been locked up to prevent him from accompanying the dead body of his wife’s brother-in-law home.