Push for higher jobless benefits

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Three labour bills were referred by Shura’s Services Committee yesterday to the Office of the Council for listing at an upcoming sitting.

The measures concern unemployment insurance, labour-market rules and the Labour Law in the Private Sector.

In outline, they raise unemployment support, grant a 30-day window to renew work permits, and set conditions for ending employment on economic grounds, including advance notice to the ministry, supporting papers, protection for Bahraini staff where skills match, and a gratuity equal to half the compensation in Article 111.

Amendment

The first bill would amend Article 18 of Decree-Law No. 78 of 2006 on Unemployment Insurance, based on a bill in amended form from Parliament.

It lifts the monthly allowance from BD200 to BD300 for jobseekers with university qualifications, and from BD150 to BD250 for others.

The second bill would amend Article 26 of Law No. 19 of 2006 on the Regulation of the Labour Market, also submitted by Parliament.

Penalty

It grants employers 30 days to renew a work permit to avoid the penalty in Article 36 of the 2006 law.

The third bill would amend provisions of the Labour Law in the Private Sector issued by Law No. 36 of 2012, again on the basis of a bill in amended form from Parliament.

It regulates termination for economic reasons by requiring employers to attach financial reports and any other documents to the notice, ensure entitlement to the full prescribed compensation, and take steps to avoid ending citizens’ contracts except in urgent cases.

Termination

Under this bill, an employer must notify the ministry of the reason for termination 30 days before informing the employee.

It also requires that a Bahraini worker not be dismissed if a foreign worker with the same competence and experience remains employed, and provides that the worker is entitled to a gratuity equal to half the compensation mentioned in Article 111.