A new survey was launched yesterday by one of the country’s main trade unions in a bid to find out whether expatriates are fully aware about health services in Bahrain, including the Covid-19 vaccination drive.
In addition, it hopes to collect feedback on the issue of those without a valid visa, or expired CPRs, facing trouble registering for the nationwide immunisation initiative.
It follows concerns raised this week over the risk of undocumented workers spreading the virus.
The General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) has launched the survey in partnership with the Fairway Programme, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation, and implemented by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
‘Health protection for migrant workers under local legislation’ features 25 key questions for thousands of expats living in Bahrain including undocumented workers.
“We have launched this survey in Bahrain to collect valuable feedback from migrant workers about the health services and Covid-19 vaccination drive,” said Fairway Programme Bahrain co-ordinator Suad Mubarak.
Fees
“This survey also asks respondents about their medical conditions, the accommodation they currently reside in and how often they visit a hospital for a check-up.”
Ms Mubarak said one of the questions in the survey lists out whether the worker or his employer pays the BD7 fees while visiting a public hospital or their nearest health centre.
She said, now that the world is more than one year down the line since the pandemic outbreak, it was important to collect data on the health conditions and challenges faced by expats in the country – including the thousands of undocumented workers who continue to remain anonymous and unvaccinated.
“The GFBTU has contacted relevant ministries to explain the issue of vaccinating workers with expired travel documents, residency visas or CPRs,” Ms Mubarak added.
“This segment of the society cannot be left out of the immunisation drive because they live and work among us, and there is confusion among them over getting the jabs.
“We have mentioned a list of options, questioning expat respondents whether they have taken the jab or remain undecided because of a fear of side effects, the risk of being deported, remain sceptical over the jab’s effectiveness or are not sure how, or where, to get vaccinated.”
Ms Mubarak added the survey organisers were also planning to submit a letter to the Labour and Social Development Minister Jameel Humaidan. “We cannot leave behind undocumented workers in the immunisation drive,” she added.
Problem
The GDN highlighted calls by the Migrant Workers’ Protection Society suggesting the authorities issue temporary CPRs for undocumented workers so that they can get vaccinated against Covid-19 and solve the problem.
These workers are either ‘not aware’ or ‘not bothered’ about getting inoculated, according to social workers.
The overall number of illegal migrants in Bahrain has reached 67,689, Mr Humaidan told a Shura Council member in March, citing the Labour Market Regulatory Authority’s (LMRA) database of February 7, 2021.
This represents 11.3 per cent of the total number of documented workers and licensed foreign business owners (531,747).
“The survey link will be shared with community leaders, non-governmental organisations and other expat associations in the coming weeks to gather answers from a big pool of respondents,” added Ms Mubarak.
The survey also questions respondents on whether they can easily register for the vaccine via the BeAware application or healthalert.gov.bh.
The GDN reported last week that an advisory was issued by the Philippines Embassy in Bahrain urging its nationals not to make payments to fraudsters promising to book Covid-19 vaccine slots.
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