FREE visa workers in Bahrain have dropped from 82,000 to 59,000 in the past nine months.
This was revealed by Labour and Social Development Minister Jameel Humaidan for the first time during an open debate in parliament yesterday on the flexible work permit scheme.
During the five-hour-long discussion, several MPs demanded the resignation of senior officials at the ministry and the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) if the scheme was not scrapped immediately.
Failing this, they said they would complain to the leadership to have them sacked.
Some MPs even threatened to make the lives of officials a living hell if they did not deport holders of flexi permits which they claimed were taking jobs that should be reserved for Bahrainis.
MPs voted on a proposal to have the scheme scrapped, those under it deported and all free visa workers cleared from the labour market within a year and referred it to the Cabinet for review.
The scheme was launched by the LMRA in July 2017, allowing expats to buy a visa for two years and work with multiple employers on a freelance basis.
It was designed to combat the illegal sale of visas on the black market which sometimes involved the procurement of work permits through ghost companies.
Yesterday, eldest MP Yousif Zainal suggested a special committee be set up to review the scheme thoroughly and come up with more effective solutions.
Mr Humaidan, who was also acting Parliament and Shura Council Affairs Minister, supported Mr Zainal.
He pointed out the scheme had been introduced with strict criteria to ensure it didn’t harm businesses, the economy or the local labour market.
However, it was still open to improvements, he added.
“We have a situation with free visa workers and all our efforts in the past have failed,” he said.
“We have tried to reduce the number of free visa workers by various means but through this scheme it has dropped from 82,000 to 59,000 in just nine months.”
However, he said the demand for cheap labour will continue as expatriates are needed for particular jobs that Bahrainis are not interested in or will not do.
“We can either ignore their illegal presence or limit their presence in the labour market and for that the scheme was introduced with strict conditions, one of them being that runaway workers were not entitled to apply for flexi work permits.
“Besides, 75pc of those given flexi permits are unskilled workers – not engineers, medics, bankers or accountants.
“Flexi permits are for contractual jobs and not permanent businesses so no CRs are being issued.”
Mr Humaidan added that serious action is being taken against those who violate the scheme.
“There are around 100 inspectors from the ministry and the LMRA, besides others from the municipalities and the police, who are helping us catch free visa workers or flexi permit violators.”
LMRA chief executive Ausamah Al Absi said flexi permits were not being dispensed as candies but were issued only after careful consideration.
“Of the total free visa workers 95.5 per cent have been created because work permits were cancelled by employers, a right the employee doesn’t have, while only 2,805 are in violation to Bahrain’s rules and regulations, which means they are in a situation that has been created by them,” he added.
“There is a demand in some categories for cheap labour and whether we bring expats under a system or not they will be used; flexi permits control supply only.
“Seventy-eight per cent flexi permits are for construction workers, painters or carpenters, 11pc for cleaners, food suppliers and electricians, while the rest are divided among 400 low-income jobs.
“The permit costs BD500 rather than the regular BD200 and the monthly fees are BD30 rather than the normal BD5.”
Two weeks ago, MPs voted to scrap the flexi work permit scheme.
The decision is now being reviewed by the government, which will ultimately decide whether to continue with the scheme or not.
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
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