Hundreds of thousands of Bahraini families benefitted from social security assistance and financial support provided by the Labour and Social Development Ministry last year.
Social allowance is set to increase by 10 per cent starting this month.
A total of 16,588 families and individuals benefited from social security assistance until December last year, while 171,880 Bahrainis received meat allowance until October 2021, with the amount totalling more than BD28 million. Meat allowances are being handed out since subsidies were lifted in 2016.
Details were revealed yesterday in an official statement released by the Labour and Social Development Ministry.
It also highlighted the National Employment Programme and the economic recovery plan “which have contributed to maintaining the stability of the labour market despite challenges faced by Bahrain and the rest of the world due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic”.
“A total of 26,344 Bahrainis were hired until December and 12,841 jobseekers benefitting from training programmes,” the ministry pointed out.
“The number of jobseekers eligible for unemployment benefit and compensation reached 28,000 until September 2021.”
Meanwhile, 1,243 people obtained home-based work permits under the Khotwa (Arabic for Step) programme whereas 62 families and individuals were converted into entrepreneurs and granted commercial records.
Meanwhile, inspectors made 2,628 visits to various establishments between January and October last year.
“A total of 33,666 Bahrainis were working at these establishments as opposed to 134,720 expatriates,” the statement said, adding that 68 violations were registered during the visits.
Authorities also ramped up inspections at labour camps and worksites, with 350 visits conducted until November within efforts to ensure compliance with precautionary measures in place to combat the spread of Covid-19. A total of 11,342 visits were also conducted by inspectors between July and August to ensure compliance with the summer work ban with 99.8 per cent abiding by the rule. Only 22 establishments and 33 workers were found breaching safety norms.
“The total number of friendly settlements recorded by the Individual Labour Disputes Settlement Office reached 1,652 – of which 805 were settled within the ministry while 757 were put on hold,” the ministry said.
During the same period, labour consultations numbered 5,297 while there were 215 written responses to legal enquiries and 12,165 queries by phone.
Consumption fees for electricity and water were reduced for 12,786 Bahraini families until the end of November last year, while 12,740 citizens benefited from the disability allowance (BD100 monthly and medical devices) until December 2021.
“Fifty four families were compensated for destruction caused by house fires last year,” added the ministry.
“The legal status of 31 organisations were corrected while the ministry monitors and supervises 657 NGOS.”
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