Suspension of manpower hiring from Indonesia irks recruitment agencies

Manama : Recruitment agencies have pleaded the Health Ministry to rethink its suspension of recruiting manpower from Indonesia as they said it will have a huge negative impact on their businesses.

This came in a statement issued by Bahrain Recruitment Agencies Society yesterday.

The statement came as a response to a decision allegedly issued and implemented by Health Ministry two weeks ago to stop recruitment of manpower from countries that are not compliant with the norms of the Gulf Approved Medical Centers Association (GAMCA).

According to the official website of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA), GAMCA is an association created to provide medical examinations to expatriates intending to join the labour markets in the GCC countries. This association has provided an electronic platform through which the health results are shared to all organisations of interest, all electronically via their official website”.

In the statement, Society members pleaded to the Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa to intervene in the matter as the suspension of recruiting manpower from Indonesia, especially domestic employment, stalls the manpower business by 70 per cent.

“What is currently happening is that the Health Ministry has required the adoption of a health report from Indonesia that is approved by GAMCA. This is not possible as issuing a medical permit to an Indonesian domestic worker doesn’t comply with the procedures followed there,” they added in their statement.

However, no official comment was available from the ministry or LMRA yet.