19 October 2005
The Economic Development Board's decision to exclude expatriate defence workers from the labour market reforms draft law was yesterday rejected by Deputy Mohammed Abbas Al Aali and many others.
Al Aali said that recruiting expatriates for the BDF and other defence organisations at the cost of Bahrainis was against national principles.
He said that if the draft law would be implemented, then more expatriates would be recruited by these establishments, stressing that all deputies who opposed the recruitment of expatriates in the defence establishments would reject Article 2 of the bill.
Al Aali called upon the government to terminate contracts of expatriate workers in the BDF while member Jassim Al Saidi said that the majority of the personnel were Bahrainis and that the government recruited expatriates who had defence expertise.
Member Hamad Al Mohannadi supported the decision to exclude expatriate defence staff from the bill and called upon the EDB to exclude all non-Bahrainis in the government sector as well. He said the government should not pay from the state budget and should allocate its financial resources for development projects.
Article 2 of the bill also received mix reactions with some members insisting on the inclusion of housemaids in the bill and some opposing.
The Minister of Labour, Dr Majeed bin Mohsen Al Alawi, said that the bill couldn't exclude 80,000 domestic helps, but some members argued that if the domestic helps were to be included, then limited-income families would be severely affected.
First Deputy Speaker Abdulhadi Marhoon said that the law should not treat on equal terms the families with one maid each and the rich and influential with many domestic helps to take care of their homes.
Member Jassim Al Muwali called upon the Chamber to approve the bill and help solve the labour problems. He said that around 30,000 job-seekers had been waiting for the bill. Member Ghanim Buaneen said that the domestic helps should be excluded from the bill and have separate laws.
After a prolonged debate, the Chamber decided to refer the articles to the Financial Affairs and Economic Committee for study. It approved Article 3 which empowers the ministry and referred Article 4 to the committee. The rest of the bill would be discussed next week.
The Economic Development Board's decision to exclude expatriate defence workers from the labour market reforms draft law was yesterday rejected by Deputy Mohammed Abbas Al Aali and many others.
Al Aali said that recruiting expatriates for the BDF and other defence organisations at the cost of Bahrainis was against national principles.
He said that if the draft law would be implemented, then more expatriates would be recruited by these establishments, stressing that all deputies who opposed the recruitment of expatriates in the defence establishments would reject Article 2 of the bill.
Al Aali called upon the government to terminate contracts of expatriate workers in the BDF while member Jassim Al Saidi said that the majority of the personnel were Bahrainis and that the government recruited expatriates who had defence expertise.
Member Hamad Al Mohannadi supported the decision to exclude expatriate defence staff from the bill and called upon the EDB to exclude all non-Bahrainis in the government sector as well. He said the government should not pay from the state budget and should allocate its financial resources for development projects.
Article 2 of the bill also received mix reactions with some members insisting on the inclusion of housemaids in the bill and some opposing.
The Minister of Labour, Dr Majeed bin Mohsen Al Alawi, said that the bill couldn't exclude 80,000 domestic helps, but some members argued that if the domestic helps were to be included, then limited-income families would be severely affected.
First Deputy Speaker Abdulhadi Marhoon said that the law should not treat on equal terms the families with one maid each and the rich and influential with many domestic helps to take care of their homes.
Member Jassim Al Muwali called upon the Chamber to approve the bill and help solve the labour problems. He said that around 30,000 job-seekers had been waiting for the bill. Member Ghanim Buaneen said that the domestic helps should be excluded from the bill and have separate laws.
After a prolonged debate, the Chamber decided to refer the articles to the Financial Affairs and Economic Committee for study. It approved Article 3 which empowers the ministry and referred Article 4 to the committee. The rest of the bill would be discussed next week.
© Bahrain Tribune 2005
