Bahrain’s Labour Fund, Tamkeen, is boosting oversight of its support programmes with a new monitoring plan that aims to double inspections and minimise misuse of funds.
This plan includes increased site visits, stronger legal frameworks, and closer collaboration with relevant authorities to address potential or confirmed violations related to its wage support programmes.
Since launching new programmes, Tamkeen has established stricter oversight standards, with inspections uncovering 237 violations out of over 2,450 conducted on wage support enterprises in 2024.
For proactive monitoring, a new mechanism combines advanced data science models with on-site visits.
Automated systems now feature warning indicators to flag potential violations, such as discrepancies in employee numbers or enterprise size.
To bolster its legal framework and follow-up procedures, Tamkeen has announced its inspectors have been granted increased legal powers. This strengthens oversight and allows for closer collaboration with authorities on any detected cases.
Tamkeen encourages reporting of suspected misconduct through a dedicated hotline (17383383) and email address (report@tamkeen.bh).
If violations are proven, the authority can reclaim disbursed funds, deny future support, and even refer cases to relevant authorities, which could lead to criminal charges depending on the severity.
The reach of revised monitoring extends beyond wage support. Tamkeen also verifies equipment purchases funded by enterprise support programmes before releasing payments and conducts follow-up visits to ensure compliance with contracts.
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