Bahrain Health Minister issue set of new conditions for workers accommodation

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain Health Minister Faeqa bint Saeed Al Saleh has issued a set of new specifications/conditions for workers accommodation.

The first article of Resolution No. 76 of 2020 regarding health conditions and specifications for workers ’accommodation stated that it is required to meet the following health conditions and specifications:

1. Area allocated to each worker in the housing shall not be less than four square meters of the vacant space in the housing.

2. Floor and walls of the housing are made of an easy-to-clean material.

3. Housing must be well ventilated and lit.

4. Doors and windows are intact and free from defects; windows must be covered with metal mesh that prevents entry of insects, dust and dirt.

5. Housing must not be in entrances, corridors and roofs of buildings.

6. Residence should be provided with means for sleeping, with sufficient covers and suitable lockers for storing clothes, in proportion to the number of persons.

7. Sleeping bed is not less than 20 cm from the floor of the room and distance between beds is not less than one meter from all sides.

8. No cooking and fuel stoves in rooms and corridors.

9. No raising animals and birds inside the housing.

10. Number of workers within one room does not exceed 8.

The third article also affirmed that the employer is obligated to provide the following equipment in every residence:

1. Suitable and sufficient air-conditioning equipment.

2. Safe-source and potable water dispenser.

3. Adequate and appropriate number of trash cans.

4. Valid means for fighting fire with a certificate from Civil Defence.

5. Necessary means for disposing housing and sewage waste.

6. First aid box commensurate with the number of workers assigned to housing.

7. Suitable place for washing clothes.

Article 4 obliges the employer to attach to every residence a kitchen appropriate to the size of the housing and the number of workers and to be in compliance with the following requirements and specifications:

1. Equipped with a safe and potable water source.

2. Floor should be of a non-slip quality of a dull material sloping into the drain and the walls are covered with smooth materials that are easy to clean.

3. Doors are self-closing and windows are covered with a metal wire net to prevent entry of insects.

4. Providing a suitable size of stainless sinks for washing and connected to a sanitary drainage.

5. Providing tables and cabinets for keeping utensils easy to clean commensurate with the number of registered persons and residents.

6. A suitable place to keep food.

7. Ventilation and lighting must be adequate.

8. Installing suitable size suction fans in the place of cooking.

9. Providing traps for flies and insects.

10. Refrigerator to store food commensurate with the number of workers assigned to housing.

11. Gas or electric stoves commensurate with the number of workers.

The fifth article of the decision specified the specifications of the toilets for each housing, which came as follows:

1. Walls be clad with a smooth, easy-to-clean material, and the floor is made of a solid material sloping into a drain.

2. Safety of ceilings and doors and covering the windows with metal wire "nets" to prevent the entry of insects.

3. Efficiency of lighting and ventilation, and providing air-exhausting fans for each bathroom.

4. Presence of a proper means of sanitation and connected to public sewers or sanitation pits.

5. Providing a suitable water heater to be placed outside.

6. Providing liquid hand soap, disinfectants and detergents necessary to disinfect and clean sanitary facilities.

7. Do not open directly to a kitchen or dining room.

8. It must contain at least one toilet for every three workers, equipped with flush tanks.

9. To contain a place for showering and changing clothes for every eight workers.

10. It must contain at least one laundry for every eight workers.

Article 6 obliges the employer to provide an independent or shared dining room in proportion to the number of workers residing in the accommodation.

The decision obligated the employer to carry out the periodic maintenance of the housing and to carry out the necessary urgent repairs, and to notify the Ministry of Health of the workers' accommodation location, address, area, number of work assigned to them and their gender, within a period not exceeding 15 days from the date of providing the housing.