Contractors in misery as ministry delays payment

Manama

 The contractors entrusted with the task of cleaning the government schools are in a dilemma as the Education Ministry has allegedly been delaying their payments.

 A contractor, who preferred anonymity, told DT News the ministry had not paid them since January and the dues would total up to thousands of dinars. 

 “For me alone, the ministry has to pay about BD160,000. I have signed an agreement to clean 15 schools and cost of cleaning one school is about BD2,000 to BD3,000 per month,” he added.

 Cleaning job includes mopping and sweeping the floor, dusting the carpets and making the premises neat and tidy.

  The contractor, who has been getting the school-cleaning contract regularly for the last 15 years, said he was struggling to pay the salaries of his employees.

 “In accordance with the rule of the land, I have recruited around 60 Bahrainis. I have to pay them BD200 to BD300 per month, whereas an expatriate salary averages BD120,” he said.

 He said the ministry had not given them any proper explanation for delaying the payments.

 “In the last 15 years, there was never such an issue. Until January, the payments were okay, though it had been delayed occasionally,” he said.

“When we met the ministry officials earlier, they promised to release the amount but nothing happened,” he added.

   The workers are also in dire straits. “But they understand our situation very well and are also doing their best to release the amount from the ministry,” he said. He added he had also heard rumours about the ministry planning to come up with new agreements.

 The Ministry of Finance has been releasing the money on the first and fifteenth of every month. “What we can do is just hope for the best,” he added.