Bahrain Cabinet approve 50 pc wages for Bahrainis affected by pandemic

Manama

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com

The Bahrain Cabinet approved the payment of 50 percent of the wages for Bahraini citizens, employed across enterprises that are most adversely affected by the repercussions of the coronavirus, and insured under the Social Insurance Law promulgated by Decree Law No. (24) of 1976. The wages will be paid by the unemployment insurance account for a period of three months starting from October 2020, in accordance with the rules and regulations specified by the Minister of Labour and Social Development. The Cabinet mandated the relevant authorities to take necessary measures in this regard. His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, today chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting, held remotely. The Cabinet congratulated HM the King, HRH the Prime Minister, HRH the Crown Prince, and the citizens of Bahrain and the Arab and Islamic Ummah’s on the anniversary of Prophet Mohammed’s birthday. On this occasion, the Cabinet recalled the honourable values and noble teachings of Islam, which espouse peace, love and goodness among humanity.

HRH the Crown Prince was then updated on developments regarding the deaths of the twin babies at the Salmaniya Medical Complex, including measures taken by relevant authorities to produce the final report on the case, in preparation for taking the necessary legal and administrative measures, if any signs of negligence or error is proven. In this regard, HRH the Crown Prince expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased babies.

The Cabinet welcomed the historic agreement to establish relations between the Republic of Sudan and the State of Israel, facilitated by the United States of America, as an additional historic step towards achieving peace, stability and prosperity in the Middle East. The Cabinet further welcomed the US administration’s decision to remove Sudan from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.

The Cabinet also welcomed the signing of the permanent ceasefire agreement in all parts of the State of Libya, which was reached at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, in an important achievement and necessary step that will contribute to establishing security and stability in Libya.

Following the meeting, the Cabinet Secretary-General, HE Dr. Yasser bin Issa Al-Nasser, made the following remarks:

1. In line with HM the King’s Royal Directives to unify national efforts aimed at combating the impact of the global spread of COVID-19 in order to preserve the health and safety of the Kingdom’s citizens and residents, whilst maintaining the sustainability of the Kingdom’s national economy, and pursuant to Decree-Law (30) of 2020, and its new clause (5) to Paragraph (c) of Article (8) of Decree-Law No. (78) of 2006, regarding insurance against unemployment, the Cabinet approved the payment of 50% of the wages for Bahraini citizens, employed across enterprises that are most adversely affected by the repercussions of the  COVID-19, and insured under the Social Insurance Law promulgated by Decree Law No. (24) of 1976.

The wages will be paid by the unemployment insurance account for a period of 3 months starting from October 2020, in accordance with the rules and regulations specified by the Minister of Labour and Social Development.

The Cabinet mandated the relevant authorities to take the necessary measures in this regard.

2. The Cabinet decided to take constitutional and legal measures to recover a number of Draft Laws presented to the Shura and Representative Councils, as it is unnecessary for the government to issue similar laws to them.

The Draft Laws are: the Public Health Law referred according to Royal Decree No. (53) for the year 2002, a draft law on mediation for settlement of disputes referred in accordance with Royal Decree No. (86) for the year 2008, a draft law to amend some provisions of Decree Law No. (21) for the year 1976 on organizing the profession of real estate realtors referred in accordance to Royal Decree No. (59) for the year 2007, and a draft law amending some provisions of Law No. (13) for the year 1975 regarding the organization of pensions and retirement benefits for government employees referred in accordance with Royal Decree No. (9) for the year 2004, and a draft law amending some provisions of the law Social insurance issued by Decree-Law No. (24) of 1976 referred according to Royal Decree No. (9) of 2004.

The Cabinet mandated the Parliamentary Affairs to take the necessary measures in this regard

3. The Cabinet approved measures that will commence at the beginning of 2021 to permit volunteering for civilians working in the public and private sectors to volunteer as part of the reserve force at the Bahrain Defence Force, through a memorandum submitted for this purpose by the Minister of Defence Affairs.

4. The Cabinet approved the acception of in-kind contributions in the form of ‘stadiums’ constructed by companies supporting the “Al Furjan Stadiums” project, in accordance to the approved construction layout and conditions set out by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs, through a memorandum submitted for this purpose by the Ministry.

5. The Cabinet approved two Draft Laws and referred them to the Legislative Authority. The first Draft Law amends the law on the prohibition of the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons and the destruction of such weapons, and the second Draft Law on the prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of biological and toxic weapons and the destruction of such weapons.

This comes within the framework of the Kingdom's desire to initiate a national project that prepares legislation to ensure the implementation of the Kingdom of Bahrain's obligations stipulated in international agreements and treaties, as recommended by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs in its memorandum presented by the Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the aforementioned committee.

6. The Cabinet approved a periodic report on duties of the Coordination and Follow-up Committee between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Nations agencies, in light of the memorandum submitted for this purpose by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs presented by the Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Committee.

7. The Cabinet referred to the Council of Representatives, together with a memorandum outlining the government's opinion, a Draft Law amending the Consumer Protection Law drafted in light of a proposal submitted by the Shura Council.

8. The Cabinet approved five proposals submitted by the Council of Representatives, which have already been enacted by the government over the past months.

The first proposal is related to supporting institutions most adversely affected by the global spread of the COVID-19, the second proposal is regarding the sterilization of migrant worker accommodations and raising awareness on precautionary measures to combat COVID-19, the third proposal is regarding fees and renewal of commercial registrations for those enterprises mostly adversely affected by the global spread of COVID-19, the fourth proposal is regarding wage support for Bahraini citizens working the private sector, and the fifth proposal is regarding reducing crowding on the Zaid Bin Omairah Street during these unprecedented circumstances.

In the items of ministerial reports, the Cabinet noted the outcomes of the 4th meeting of the Committee of Ministers of Education in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, through a report submitted by the Ministry of Education, and the outcomes of the 6th meeting of the Committee of Ministers of Social Affairs in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, through a report submitted by the Minister of Labour and Social Development.