Bahrain - A proposal to force companies seeking to recruit foreigners – while failing to achieve the Bahrainisation quota – to pay higher labour fees for each employee was approved by MPs at Parliament’s weekly session yesterday.

Forwarded to the Cabinet for a review, the proposal seeks to impose a BD500 labour fee for expat workers with average monthly wages of BD200, BD1,000 for those with salaries between BD201 and BD500, BD1,500 for those earning between BD501 and 800, BD2,000 for those earning between BD801 and BD1,200, and BD2,500 for those taking home more than BD1,200.

If approved, the new fees would be an addition to the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) expat work fees paid every two years.

The LMRA pointed out that it has already introduced a flat BD500 fee for those wishing to recruit an expatriate while not adhering to the minimum Bahrainisation quota.

“The BD500 fee has resulted in a drop in requests to hire expats – from 3.9 per cent in 2018 to 2.5pc in 2022,” LMRA chief executive Nibras Talib told MPs in a written response.

“A total of 3,372 establishments failed to achieve the Bahrainisation quota in 2018 and hired expats. However, the numbers dropped to 2,270 in 2022,” he said, adding that there were 86,440 registered establishments in 2018 and 91,010 in 2022.

The Bahrain Chamber refused to back the proposal saying that the higher fees would lead to inflation in market prices.

Meanwhile, MPs unanimously approved:

* A proposal to reserve a minimum of 70pc jobs for Bahrainis holding higher degrees, in faculties in government and private universities. The Civil Service Commission said it announces job vacancies at government universities for Bahrainis and if not available, expats are recruited on temporary contracts.

* A proposal to monitor private universities’ fees. The Higher Education Council stated that it was already keeping track of the fees.

* A proposal to address problems created by expat bachelor labourers in residential areas. The Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Ministry, the Interior Ministry, Bahrain’s three municipal councils and the Capital Trustees Board pointed out that new rules would be introduced to govern lease contracts.

* A proposal to distribute government homes according to application date rather than approximation to family residential area.

Copyright 2022 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).