Push for Stricter Clampdown on Runaway Housemaids

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Runaway expat housemaids and other domestic help have stirred MPs into calling for tighter rules, with their proposal heading for a crucial vote in Parliament next Tuesday. Legislators say local households face debts and lawsuits as rogue workers vanish. Officials at the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) push back, saying such desertions remain but a tiny share of the whole workforce.

The LMRA, in a formal note, insists these absences mark only a slight speck among all lawful work permits. In 2022, out of 483,549 lawful permits in the commercial field, a mere 1,070 workers fled, about 0.18 percent. Among household help, 874 out of 73,209 left, around 1.44 percent. The worst showing of late was in 2019, reaching 2.28 percent for housemaids. The LMRA links these flights to unpaid wages, poor lodgings, scant rest, or mistreatment. Once an employer reports a runaway, the LMRA cancels the permit. Commercial employers have thirty days to lodge such claims, while those with housemaids have five. Once proved, the runaway is blacklisted, shutting future doors.

Licensed hiring offices are listed to help sponsors steer clear of shady middlemen. During the trial stretch, these offices must replace any worker who flees. Should they fail, the LMRA pays back the sponsor from the office’s deposit. Critics call this too soft, saying Bahraini families feel the pinch each time a worker takes off, leaving behind debts and fractured deals.

Lawmakers urge stronger penalties and public warnings, asking locals not to hire runaways, as it feeds the problem.

This push for firmer laws springs from a plan laid down by MP Ahmed Abdulwahid Qarata, joined by Hanan Al Fardan, Hassan Ibrahim Hassan, Abdulla Al Dhaen, and Hamad Al Doy. Their paper notes a steady rise in walkouts that leave sponsors in the lurch. They argue that ordinary families, already under strain, need cover from what they see as a deepening illness.

Still, the LMRA admits a thorny issue, watching over housemaids tucked behind private doors is no simple task, with the law barring routine checks. The LMRA urges the public to wise up, warning that taking in a runaway worker breaks Bahraini law. It works with foreign embassies to sort out hiring and keep all on the right track. Meanwhile, MPs stand firm, saying the time for half-measures has passed.