Gulf | Bahrain

Gulf states 'suffer erosion of culture'

Immediate steps must be taken to check "the erosion" of the Arab national character in the Gulf states by the influx of foreign workers, a senior Gulf official warns.

  • By Duraid Al Baik, Foreign Editor
  • Published: 00:41 October 1, 2007
  • Gulf News

  • Bahrain's Minister of Labour Dr Majeed Al Alawi says the six-year residency cap will not harm businesses and will protect the identity of the Gulf in the long run.
  • Image Credit: Duraid Al Baik/Gulf News

Manama: Immediate steps must be taken to check "the erosion" of the Arab national character in the Gulf states by the influx of foreign workers, a senior Gulf official warns.

But Dr. Majeed Al Alawi, Bahraini Minister of Labour, also says that the working conditions of expatriate labourers should be improved and their rights protected.

"The majority of foreign manpower in the region comes from different cultural and social backgrounds that cannot assimilate or adapt to the local cultures," he told Gulf News in an interview.

"In some areas in the Gulf, you can't tell whether you are in an Arab Muslim country or in an Asian district. We can't call this diversity and no nation on earth could accept the erosion of its own culture on its own land."

Workers' rights

To address this particular challenge, Bahrain proposed a maximum six-year residency cap on foreign workers in the Gulf, and Al Alawi says he is "optimistic" that the two-year-old proposal will be approved by the upcoming GCC summit, set to be held in Doha in December.

Meanwhile, Al Alawi suggests the traditional sponsorship system, known locally as kafala, be scrapped. The government henceforth would be in charge of the visas and work permits of expatriate workers.

The move is intended to ensure the protection of workers' rights and that they get what they are promised during the recruiting process, the minister added.

"It would also mean that no foreign worker would be hired for a position that can be filled by a national."

The government authority will initially be in charge of sponsorship transfers and will resolve conflicts between workers and their employers but ultimately will be in charge of recruiting and sponsoring the expatriates.

Profile: Majid Al Alawi

Majid Al Alawi was an opposition activist living in exile in London until he returned home after the king declared an amnesty for opposition figures in 1999.

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa appointed Al Alawi, a member of Bahrain's Shiite majority, to his current post as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.

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