License of recruitment agency revoked for posting bizarre ad

Manama : The Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) has permanently revoked the license of a manpower recruitment agency that offered an Ethiopian housemaid as prize to the winner of a contest posted on social media.

The measure follows after LMRA announced on April 12 that it had taken steps against an employment agency after it committed serious offenses classified as suspicious human trafficking.

Al Hazeem Manpower Agency posted the advertisement on its pages on social media networks announcing a competition and a prize of an Ethiopian housemaid for the winner.

“Win a housemaid of the Ethiopian nationality in our Ramadhan contest,” ran the ad posted by the agency on its page on Instagram. The post, which received nationwide condemnation, pushed LMRA to take immediate action by temporarily suspending the agency’s license, summoning the owner and launching an investigation into the case.

LMRA announced yesterday that investigations resulted in detecting a bunch of serious violations that included “commercial concealment, hindering the work of its inspectors and not allowing them to carry out their duties, and publicising the offensive advertisement of human trafficking nature”.

“In light of the results of the investigation, LMRA decided to permanently suspend the agency’s license,” the authority confirmed yesterday, without mentioning the agency’s name.

LMRA also stressed in its statement on “equality and respecting individuals’ rights which are authentic parts of social culture in the Kingdom of Bahrain that is based on equality without regard to race, gender or belief.”

The authority added that “the condemnation that the erring ad received from the society proves  the public awareness about human values in Bahrain”.