70,800 Firms Join Wage Protection System

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Over 70,800 private-sector establishments have joined Bahrain’s Wage Protection System since it began on 1 May 2021, the Ministry of Labour said in a written reply to MP Abdulhakeem Al Sheno. The ministry said a second version of the system went live on 21 October 2025, giving regulators better data to track wage payments and spot breaches.

The ministry said the update was built with the Labour Market Regulatory Authority, the Central Bank of Bahrain, Benefit Company and licensed banks and financial institutions. It said the newer version offers more complete and accurate information than the first, and can break down wage-payment results by sector and establishment size.

Compliance, the ministry said, is measured mainly by whether employers pay wages on the dates set out in employment contracts, or in line with the Labour Law where contracts are silent. Payments must be made through channels licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain, including bank accounts and prepaid cards.

The ministry reported 65 violations in 2022, 61 in 2023, 115 in 2024, and 225 up to October 2025. It said these cases account for 0.66 per cent of establishments enrolled in the system since the start of the current legislative term, putting overall wage-payment compliance at 99.4 per cent up to October 2025.

On enforcement, it said the LMRA checks wage records before issuing work permits, meaning non-compliant employers can lose a key condition for new permits under labour market rules. The ministry said its inspection steps begin with a warning and a correction window of up to a month, followed by a return visit, a formal violation report and referral to the Public Prosecution track where breaches persist.

The ministry said follow-up within its own structure is handled by the Inspection and Occupational Safety Directorate, working with the LMRA unit that runs the electronic wage protection platform.