Labour Ministry rechecks unemployment benefit lists to safeguard applicants

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Jobseekers’ rights are being reinforced on Bahrain’s National Employment Platform through extra checks on vacancies and a re-examination of unemployment benefit lists, His Excellency Yusuf Khalaf, Acting Labour Minister, has told MPs. Replying to a question from MP Mohammed Salman Al Ahmed, H.E. Khalaf said the Labour Ministry had put in place a range of regulatory and service steps aimed at protecting people looking for work.

These include a fresh review of those who receive unemployment allowance and compensation, and an online service on the National Employment Platform for complaints and enquiries about vacancies, interviews, attendance dates, training and unemployment insurance, so each stage of recruitment passes through a clear, recorded channel.

Complaints

Responding to complaints about clashing accounts from employers and jobseekers, H.E. Khalaf said the ministry does not accept information sent directly by employers as fact.

No outcome is entered into the system, he added, until a ministry employee has checked it and is satisfied that the procedure has been followed in the proper way, so jobseekers are not harmed by wrong or incomplete statements. He said the ministry had also formed a grievance committee, with online slots to file and follow up cases.

The panel looks at practical and personal grounds raised by jobseekers as part of the ongoing review of those who receive unemployment allowance and compensation.

Record

According to the ministry, a jobseeker’s record stays active in the employment and training system and is counted within unemployment figures even if benefit payments stop for any reason.

A person is only removed from the jobseeker lists once they are registered with the Social Insurance Organisation as an insured employee or as the holder of a commercial registration.

H.E. Khalaf stressed that the ministry does not pick candidates or phone them to offer jobs.

Instead, he said, jobseekers choose posts that match their qualifications through the National Employment Platform using the eKey.

Details

They can see full details of each vacancy, including salary, job title, qualification, specialisation, workplace location, working hours, full-time or parttime, and any dress code.

Employers begin the process by entering the vacancy and its details on the platform.

The ministry then checks salary, qualification and specialisation against the needs declared by the employer.

Once the required conditions are met, the vacancy is opened for jobseekers to nominate themselves.

Guidance

The minister added that the platform’s automated system gives guidance to jobseekers who have no previous work experience and have not applied for enough vacancies.

If they still fail to put themselves forward for suitable roles, they are called in for a guidance meeting with an employment specialist, who explains how the application process works.

To reduce disputes between jobseekers and employers, the ministry has decided that all interview invitations are documented through the government notifications system using four channels: SMS text message, e-mail, the jobseeker’s account on the platform and the general government notifications platform.

Result

Interviews are held at the ministry’s headquarters in the presence of a named employee, who records what takes place and logs the result.

The ministry said each jobseeker’s account now carries a record of the vacancies they have nominated themselves for and the outcomes of interviews as entered by the employer.

The system requires the employer to state the reasons for any rejection, whether the decision came from their side or from the jobseeker.

Outcome

Both parties can see the approved outcome once it has been checked by a ministry employee, giving jobseekers the chance to file an appeal or ask for any entry they believe to be wrong to be reviewed.

The ministry added that it will go on working with the Council of Representatives to develop employment services and protect jobseekers’ rights in line with current laws and procedures.

H.E. Khalaf also said that statements from employers after interviews held outside the ministry building, for example claims that a jobseeker did not answer phone calls, are not taken on trust.

In such cases, the ministry sends an official notice asking the jobseeker to attend its offices, where both sides are brought together in the presence of an employment specialist to keep the process transparent and balanced.