Officials hiring free visa employees, blames MP

Manama : In a serious allegation, an MP has accused some ministries and government authorities of hiring illegal workers (free visa employees). The lawmaker also pledged to hold the involved establishments accountable for violating the Kingdom’s labour laws.

MP Adel Al Assoomy, in a press statement yesterday, said: “Some ministries and government establishments are contracting with private companies to implement some of their projects. But these private contractors are hiring illegal employees to complete the work.”

“This is a clear violation to the Kingdom’s laws and regulations,” said Al Assoomy, who also heads the parliamentary investigative committee formed last year to look into the free visa phenomenon. He called for holding the companies accountable for violating the law. 

The lawmaker commented, “Government authorities and establishments must be committed to the law and work to eliminate the free visa phenomenon, which is a social and economic threat to our country.”

Al Assoomy’s statements came a few days after another committee member, MP Jalal Kadhem Al Mahfoudh, accused the Electricity and Water Authority of hiring a free visa diver to conduct underwater maintenance at one of the authority’s stations recently.

The parliamentary investigative committee was formed in March 2015. It consists of MPs Al Mahfoudh, Anas Buhindi, Hamad Al Dossary, Thiyab Al Nuaimi, Ali Al Muqla, Majeed Al Asfoor, Mohsen Al Bakry, Ghazi Al Rahma and Nasser Al Qasseer.