Job applications trashed 'by mistake'

Manama: Investigation is on into the dumping of thousands of job applications containing personal and confidential information in a dumpster.

The Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labour, Jameel Humadan, in a statement said yesterday that the government has started a probe and the suspects would be referred to the Public Prosecution.

He said that the applications, which were a part of the National Employment Project, "were dumped by mistake in Aali instead of being transferred to the Central Stores".

"The information in the documents has been included in the project's database, so the employment chances of those applicants wouldn't be lost," Humadan assured.

He said that investigation revealed that the applications from Hamad Town Employment Centre were sent by a truck to the central stores and the stores for unknown reasons declined to accept them. The truck drivers then dumped them in Aali by mistake.

The project was launched last year with a budget of BD30 million (Dh300 million) to train and appoint unemployed Bahrainis in the private and public sector.

The project drew criticism for failing to reduce unemployment statistics as jobs offered are for low salaries.

The recent incident of dumping that was discovered by Aali residents would badly affect the reputation of the project as jobseekers who didn't get job by now feel that the ministry had got rid of their applications.

'Sectarian'

MP Mohammad Khalid from Brotherhood movement told Gulf News the scandal should be firmly dealt with by taking serious action against those responsible for it.

He said that the documents contain dreams and hopes of jobseekers who were in great need to get decent jobs.

Khalid accused the members of the project's administration of being sectarian and for ignoring applications of unemployed Sunnis.

He said that many Sunni jobseekers in his constituency, the Hamad Town, complained of the maltreatment they received while they applied for the project.

"I wasn't taking the complaints of jobseekers in my area seriously until I came to know that the ministry is dumping their applications in the trash bin.

"I doubt that this was the first time the ministry got rid of the applications by dumping them in different parts of Bahrain," Khalid said.

He alleged that university degree holders were offered low-paid jobs and were laughed at by the project's interviewers for demanding better jobs.

Khalid said that the ministry should release statistics about how many jobseekers were recruited and are in the waiting list as well as the job opportunities.

Suad Hamada is a journalist based in Manama