Gulf | Bahrain
More controversy over decision to scrap sponsorship system in Bahrain
Al Wefaq, Bahrain's largest parliamentary bloc, has come under intense pressure from the business community for endorsing a decision to scrap the sponsorship system.
- By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
- Published: 13:49 May 28, 2009
Manama: Al Wefaq, Bahrain's largest parliamentary bloc, has come under intense pressure from the business community for endorsing a decision to scrap the sponsorship system.
In a protest rally staged on Wednesday evening in front of the society's buildings in Manama, several businessmen accused Al Wefaq of "failing to assume its responsibilities towards a critical sector that fully supports the national economy and the drive to give Bahrainis better employment opportunities".
According to the angry businessmen, Al Wefaq was collaborating with the labour minister to pass a law that would be detrimental to business owners and would result in heavy losses for them.
Majeed Al Alawi, the labour minister, earlier this month announced the decision that would put an end to 'kafala', the sponsorship system that allowed employers to control the movement of the foreign employees working for them. Under the new system, an employee can switch jobs without the consent of the employer.
The decision was hailed by expatriates, embassies, labour organizations and rights activists. However, it has been staunchly rejected by the business community as a source of financial losses and problems to keep employees.
On Tuesday, the lower house of the bicameral parliament said that it wanted to include a clause that would make it mandatory for foreigners to remain at least for one year with their employers before they could move on to another job. Al Wefaq, with 17 of the 40 seats in the lower house, however, voted against the proposal which was passed with a slight majority.
Businessmen, upset by al Wefaq's attitude, said that it "will now have to bear all the negative consequences of its attitude towards the national economy and its drive to put the business community under siege."
However, Al Wefaq said it opposed the one-year clause on the grounds that the foreign worker would in that period of time learn more about his employing company's secrets and would become closer to the regular customers.
Al Wefaq said it had called for postponing the implementation of the decision to scrap the sponsorship system from August 1 to next year.
Political societies have been divided over the merit of the decision to scrap the sponsorship system, swaying between support to allowing foreign workers to move freely and backing the businessmen in their rejection of the new system.
On Thursday, the Democratic Menbar, a leftist society with no representation in the lower house, said that it fully supported the move to give employees the right to switch jobs.
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