28-05-2021

His Excellency the Minister of Labour and Social Development, Mr. Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, delegated Mr. Ahmed Jaafar Mohammad Al Hayki, Assistant Undersecretary for Labour Affairs, to attend a tripartite meeting on Bahrain’s construction sector. Hosted by the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions, in the presence of its Secretary-General, Mr. Abdulqader Abdulkarim Al Shehabi, the event focused on safeguarding workers’ rights based on a study conducted by the Federation, in cooperation with the International Federation of Building and Wood Workers and the International Labour Organization. Experts and stakeholders from relevant local, regional, and international bodies participated in the meeting, which took place yesterday (Wednesday). During his participation, Al Hayki addressed the facilities provided by the esteemed government to workers in the construction sector during the novel coronavirus pandemic, stressing the Kingdom of Bahrain’s commitment to relevant agreements that preserve workers’ rights and safety at work sites. In this context, he pointed out a number of efforts, including initiatives and measures to mitigate the repercussions of COVID-19 on the business sector and ensure workers’ job stability. The government has allocated part of the financial package to support the wages and stability of national workers in the private sector, in addition to suspending work fees for three months, giving a grace period for all foreign workers to adjust their status, and transferring 10% of workers from their residential sites to other residential sites, and using alternative headquarters as workers’ housing to reduce the crowding of workers at their residential sites to prevent the spread of the disease, in conjunction with activating inspections of workers’ housing. Al Hayki stressed that the Ministry has taken the initiative since the beginning of the aforementioned exceptional circumstances, holding meetings with representatives of foreign embassies and informing them of the procedures to confront the emerging disease and directing them to inform their communities of the necessity of following health instructions, providing isolation rooms for workers’ residences, coordinating with occupational safety officials in companies and providing publications in all languages, implementing awareness campaigns for workers in their residences, issuing an administrative circular to employers and workers at worksites and workers’ residences, reducing the number of workers in transportation to and from their workplaces, providing special quarantines for infected expatriate workers, in addition to implementing a work-from-home policy for those who can perform their duties remotely, among other measures that have been and remain in place with the aim of ensuring the safety of workers and society alike.