Parliament to Vote Tuesday on GCC Unemployment Insurance Cover

TDT | Manama

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Unemployment insurance for Gulf citizens working outside their home countries will be put to a vote in Parliament on Tuesday, under a government bill amending the GCC’s cross-border social insurance system.

The government-referred draft law would approve amendments to the Unified System for Extending Insurance Protection to citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council states employed in another member state. Alongside adding unemployment cover, the changes would widen the scope of insurance protection, update the way monthly contributions are collected, and seek closer coordination between civil pension bodies and social insurance agencies across the GCC.

The bill is attached to Royal Decree No. 38 of 2025 and is framed as an approval law for the amended GCC regulation. It consists of a preamble and two articles: the first approves the amended regulation, and the second assigns implementation to the Prime Minister and ministers, each within their remit, with the law taking effect the day after publication in the Official Gazette.

Figures provided by the Social Insurance Organisation (SIO) to MPs show that, up to the fourth quarter of 2023, a total of 905 Bahrainis in the public sector and 2,812 in the private sector were insured under the unified system while working in other GCC states.   The largest private-sector total was in Saudi Arabia, with 1,737 insured Bahrainis.  

The same SIO data shows 801 Bahrainis in the public sector and 6,824 in the private sector had ended service under the system since it began, up to the fourth quarter of 2023.   Saudi Arabia again accounted for the largest private-sector figure, with 4,345.  

Parliament’s Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee said the draft is constitutionally sound, while the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee said approval is not expected to carry a direct financial impact and should support better collection of monthly contributions and stronger coordination between pension and social insurance bodies.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the amendment stems from a decision by the GCC Ministerial Council at its 162nd session on 28 November 2024, later endorsed by GCC leaders at their 45th summit in Kuwait on 1 December 2024. It said the aim is to ensure Gulf citizens working in another member state can benefit from pension systems as if they were in their home country, supporting social stability and labour movement within the bloc.

Trade union groups backed the bill in principle, describing clearer contribution collection routes and broader payment options as steps that support workers and reduce administrative snags, while a retirees’ group said the changes would help support the sustainability of insurance funds.

Parliament’s Services Committee recommended approval in principle, with members present backing the bill.