MPs call for investigation into rate of Bahrainisation in private sector

TDT | Manama                                                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A group of Bahraini MPs led by Hamad Al Doy, Jaleela Al Sayed, Bader Al Tameemi, and Mohammed Al Baluchi have requested a parliamentary investigation committee to examine Bahrainization in the private sector.

MP Al Doy said the committee would look into obstacles preventing Bahrainization, ensuring commitment to relevant laws and regulations, and reasons for the private sector preference of expatriates over citizens.

It will also verify any loopholes exploited in this area and companies' adherence, especially public ones, to policies.

The committee will confirm conditions for non-Bahraini workers, understand why those jobs can’t be nationalised, and assess the fairness of employment processes in the private sector and the effectiveness of government citizen prioritisation plans.

It will investigate equitable promotion and grading of Bahrainis versus expats, as well as verifying the credentials and competencies of foreign staff, he stressed.

The committee’s memorandum outlined four main focuses: compliance of government and subsidiary firms as well as large private companies with Bahrainization laws; barriers hindering private sector nationalisation leading to a distorted labour market with more expats than citizens and high unemployment; application of relevant rules by concerned entities; and conditions for non-citizen workers to identify national substitutes for their roles.