In its next session, the Shura Council intends to discuss a proposal for a law amending some provisions of Law No. 19 of 2006 regarding regulating the labor market.
The Services Committee stated that the proposed law aims to confront the exaggerated amounts in the recruitment of domestic workers, oblige the Labor Market Regulatory Authority to specify the maximum costs of recruiting domestic workers and the like of every nationality in detail, and place an absolute ban on offices supplying domestic workers from receiving any amounts. Or a benefit or advantage from the employer that exceeds the maximum limit specified by the Labor Market Regulatory Authority.
For their part, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “The reason behind the high recruitment fees is due to two reasons: the absence of agreements with countries exporting domestic workers, and the small number of these countries. To solve the problem of high recruitment fees, it is better to sign agreements with other countries.”
They pointed out that the Ministry is now in the process of starting two projects with the Republics of Ethiopia and Kenya, and there is no objection to signing agreements with other countries, except that the matter requires submitting a request from the concerned authority, stressing the need to study the issue before concluding any agreement and scrutinize its provisions to ascertain its consequences and impact on the country. The Kingdom’s economy, and knowing the appropriate time to proceed with the procedures, that is, before or after the issuance of the law.
They pointed out that the Ministry confirmed that it will be one of the contributing and assisting parties in addition to the main role played by the Labor Market Regulatory Authority in this matter, given that the proposal for this law aims to confront the high prices in the process of recruiting foreign workers sent to the Kingdom of Bahrain, especially since the cost of recruiting these Employment is so high that it has become one of the worrying concerns that burdens the Bahraini citizen, especially since the main reason for the rise in these prices is due to the increase in fees imposed on Bahraini labor recruitment offices by the recruitment offices in the worker’s country, and that this matter is an internal matter of the worker’s country that cannot be The Kingdom of Bahrain may interfere or influence it.
They stated that to confront the increasing increase in the prices of foreign workers, the Ministry proposed replacing the current methods in place for recruiting workers with new and modern methods and working to digitize the procedures in cooperation with the Labor Market Regulatory Authority, which will contribute to reducing the total fees by reducing administrative fees.
They added, “Working to study expanding the circle of labor recruitment and greater openness to labor-exporting countries, facilitating recruitment procedures and requirements at home and abroad, opening new horizons for cooperation with countries exporting domestic workers, and working to establish guarantees that guarantee all rights with these countries.”
For their part, representatives of the Labor Market Regulatory Authority stated that the purpose of the proposed law must be reconsidered because it cannot be applied on the ground, given that the issue of determining the value of recruiting domestic workers is subject to increase and decrease due to several variable factors. The state or the authority cannot determine a maximum value and costs of the service. Variable, the definition is not consistent with the state’s open market policy.
The Services Committee said that it is necessary to establish specific controls for the costs of recruiting domestic workers, in light of the escalation in the cost of the service of recruiting domestic workers and the like, which constitutes a great financial burden on the employer who wishes to recruit a domestic worker.
She pointed out that the applicable law does not include setting the maximum limits for the costs of recruiting a domestic worker, and in the face of this legislative vacuum, it has become appropriate to follow the path of the proposed legislative amendment to confront this exaggeration, and not burden the citizen with additional financial burdens.
She pointed out that the proposed law seeks to oblige the Labor Market Regulatory Authority to set binding maximum limits for offices recruiting domestic workers, to be determined according to principles and controls in a detailed manner according to each nationality separately, after consultation in this regard with specialists, so that recruitment offices may not exceed those limits. The limits are estimated fairly in a way that preserves the rights of the employer, the domestic worker, and the recruitment agencies, in addition to setting an absolute prohibition that prevents obtaining a benefit, advantage, or sums of money from the employer that exceed the amounts previously determined by the Labor Market Regulatory Authority.
She stated that the proposed law is considered to achieve the principle of legislative justice, which achieves a balance in the rights and obligations between the employer and the domestic worker in a way that does not prejudice their interests, but rather preserves the rights of both of them, in addition to taking into account the rights of recruitment offices in exchange for fees and operational expenses when estimating the maximum costs of recruiting domestic workers.
She pointed out that it is consistent with the trend of legislation in comparative countries that set a higher ceiling for the costs of recruiting domestic workers, as they issued decisions in which they stated the maximum costs of recruitment for each nationality separately, which confirms the possibility of applying this in the Kingdom of Bahrain through the Labor Market Regulatory Authority preparing a study. Detailed information about the mechanism for recruiting domestic workers, and knowledge of the actual cost according to the surrounding circumstances, variables, expenses, and fees imposed within the Kingdom and in countries exporting domestic workers, in a manner that takes into account the interests of all relevant parties.
The committee recommended approving the permissibility of considering the proposed law amending some provisions of Law No. (19) of 2006 regarding regulating the labor market.
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