Unscrupulous employers have been accused of illegally pocketing part of the salaries that should be paid to young Bahrainis new to the workforce.
Community leaders claim they have evidence of disappearing Tamkeen payments because of ‘loops in the system’ and have called for more checks and balances.
The money should be used to help unemployed Bahrainis get a foothold on the career ladder and help companies cover the cost of attracting young talent.
Leading unionist and former MP Sayed Falah Hashim claimed Bahraini jobseekers were being blackmailed to pay up or lose the chance of employment to more desperate jobseekers willing to play the game and give their bosses a cut.
“It’s often a case of having two bad options,” claimed Mr Hashim. “They either sign on cheques that they owe money to the establishment before being offered a work contract or miss the job opportunity because someone else will be willing to accept the deal.
“It means that all the wage support provided by Tamkeen doesn’t enter into employees’ pockets. Instead it ends up going to the employers undeservedly and illegally.
“I understand other workers simply pay out a cut when their salaries are transferred every month.”
Community figures including charity and social societies’ officials, and unionists, alongside unemployed Bahrainis, brought the issue to light at the Northern Municipal Council’s weekly majlis, called Hayakum (Arabic for ‘Welcome’) when it hosted the Labour Ministry’s jobs’ counselling specialist Moosa Al Moallim.
Yesterday’s meeting became so heated when the accusations were voiced that council chairman Sayed Shubbar Al Wedaie had to appeal for calm.
Under Tamkeen’s generous wage support for Bahrainis – 70 per cent of the listed wage is given in the first year, 50pc in the second and 30pc in the third, the meeting heard.
Charity and Social Societies’ Federation and Demistan Charity and Social Society president Abdulhussain Dhaif backed Mr Hashim’s stand.
“The employee appears to be forgotten as soon as the ‘jobseeker’ status is over,” he claimed.
“There are loopholes that enable cheating and the evidence is that Tamkeen’s wage support is being manipulated by some employers.”
Mr Al Moallim acknowledged that there may be some businesses cheating the system but he believes they are ‘very much in the minority’.
“Every system has loopholes and we try to ensure that new recruits receive direct payments into their bank accounts,” he said.
“If there are some employees enduring forced deals that is very wrong and I would urge them to speak up.”
He added that all telephone conversations were now being recorded to ensure fairness in all employment procedures.
“There are challenges and for that I agree there should be longer-term monitoring and follow-ups,” he said.
“All employment services are now carried out electronically and the system is highly supervised.”
The GDN reported that 29,995 Bahrainis were employed last year, which is 149.9pc of the announced target of 20,000.
Labour Minister Jameel Humaidan confirmed to Parliament at the time that 70pc of manpower was in the private sector compared to 30pc in government departments.
He also highlighted the growing Bahrainisation rates in many sectors, including health (70.9pc), administrative (62.4pc), education (57.5pc), financial (53.7pc) and industrial (29.7pc).
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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