Ministry of Labor and Social Development Achievements in the year 2020

02-01-2021

Labour and Social Development Ministry's key achievements in 2020: • Initiatives by the labour and social development sectors to provide the best services despite the repercussions of the "Coronavirus.” • A shift to eServices has accelerated the pace of employment and facilitated the provision of social welfare. • Paying citizens' salaries has contributed to the stability of national employment in the private sector. • Employment of 19,000 citizens and launch of a permanent Electronic Employment fair. • The value of financial support (High Cost Allowance) provided to citizens exceeds 113 million dinars. • Disbursement of BD28 million as meat‑subsidy compensation. • Licensing more than 750 training programmes in various production sectors. • 954 families benefited from the "Khatwa" programme, and 48 became entrepreneurs. In implementation of the directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the great King of the country, may God protect and preserve him, and in translation of the vision of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Prime Minister, may God protect him, to transform challenges into opportunities and opportunities into achievements—especially in this exceptional year that witnessed the global outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID‑19)—the Ministry of Labour and Social Development launched a package of qualitative initiatives to keep pace with the Kingdom of Bahrain’s response to the repercussions of this emerging disease without affecting the Ministry’s various services. This was achieved by strengthening its electronic system to ensure the smooth and easy provision of services in the areas of employment, workforce stability, labour‑market regulation, and the enhancement of social welfare and protection services and activities. 1. Paying citizens' salaries in the private sector: Based on the royal directives to launch a financial and economic package that supports citizens and the private sector in mitigating the pandemic’s impact and sustaining growth, the esteemed government undertook to pay private‑sector Bahraini salaries from the Unemployment Insurance Fund. The Ministry, in coordination with the Social Insurance Organization (SIO), supervised salary disbursements for March, April and May 2020, followed by payment of 50 % of salaries for June, July and August. A further 50 % of the salaries of insured Bahrainis in the most affected private‑sector establishments was paid for July, August and September 2020, and the same proportion was paid for Bahrainis in sectors still facing total or partial closures for a further three‑month period from October to December 2020. 2. Electronic recruitment: Despite the pandemic’s impact on private‑sector employment, the Ministry completed about 19,000 recruitment processes in 2020—covering candidates either selected directly by the Ministry or referred by employers for placement. To streamline hiring, the Ministry enhanced its electronic infrastructure by introducing an automated job‑seeker registration system and launching a permanent Electronic Employment fair, which enables job seekers to register and choose from available opportunities while the Ministry tracks recruitment procedures and schedules periodic reviews entirely through eServices, eliminating the need for personal attendance. 3. Unemployment insurance: As part of efforts to enhance social protection for citizens, around 20,000 job seekers had qualified for unemployment benefits and compensation by October 2020, after duplicate names were removed from the monthly lists. The Ministry disburses unemployment benefits to eligible job seekers at BD200 per month for university graduates and BD150 per month for those with lower academic qualifications, while 60 % of salary is paid for up to 9 months to dismissed workers entitled to compensation. An eServices system has been launched for direct communication with job seekers, enabling them to submit inquiries or grievances and to view detailed data on unemployment beneficiaries. 4. Licensing 757 training programmes: The year 2020 witnessed significant advancements in training mechanisms at private institutions and training centres through widespread adoption of distance‑learning technology, optimally leveraging technological progress in human‑resource development. Interest in the training sector continued to grow: by October, the Ministry supervised 94 licensed private training centres and institutes—16 vocational and technical centres and 78 administrative and commercial centres—and had licensed 11 new training institutions. A total of 757 training programmes were approved (43 local, 350 local passing and 334 from international awarding bodies), and 292 trainers were licensed across various training institutions. 5. Training and qualifying more than 3,000 job seekers: The Ministry developed multiple training programmes for secondary‑school graduates, university graduates and school dropouts, benefiting 3,347 job seekers by mid‑December 2020. It also signed 10 memoranda of understanding to offer free virtual training and guidance for job seekers of all qualifications, including an MoU with the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs to activate the On‑the‑Job Training Programme (Furas)—a vocational training route that provides on‑the‑job experience. 6. Promoting occupational safety: The Ministry intensified monitoring to ensure establishments complied with COVID‑19 precautions, supervising the sterilisation of 593 workers’ residences and other preventive measures. It contacted 1,055 work sites to verify adherence to requirements, and inspection visits to work sites and workers’ housing totalled 395 up to last November. 7. Labour inspection: From January to November 2020, labour inspectors conducted 2,227 inspection visits to verify private‑sector establishments’ compliance with the labour law, ensuring workers’ rights, appropriate working conditions, contract integrity and related matters. These inspections covered 102,466 workers—23,913 Bahrainis and 78,553 expatriates—and resulted in 97 violations and warnings. 8. Summer work ban: To protect workers and enforce Ministerial Resolution No. 3 of 2013 prohibiting work under direct sunlight in July and August, inspection teams carried out 13,658 site visits; compliance reached 99.7 %, with only 30 violating establishments and 42 violating workers recorded. 9. Labour relations: As part of its oversight role to maintain labour‑market stability and address labour disputes, the Ministry received 16,532 service requests—including amicable‑settlement requests and legal consultations—by October 2020. 50.3 % of the total complaints were resolved by the Ministry, while disputing parties were directed to the labour court if no amicable solution was reached. Collective‑labour complaints totalled 14 and were all settled within the Ministry, avoiding referral to the Collective Labour Dispute Settlement Authority. Regarding labour unions and federations, the number of unions reached 122, and the Ministry received requests to establish 3 new unions during 2020. 10. Step Programme for Home Businesses: The programme won the Arab Government Excellence Award 2020 as the best community‑development initiative launched under the League of Arab States. Its success reflects the shift from reliance on social assistance to productive home‑based enterprises: over its 10‑year lifespan 954 licences have been issued, and 48 families have become entrepreneurs by obtaining commercial records. In 2020 household sales at exhibitions totalled BD34,790. During the mask‑sewing campaign to combat COVID‑19, productive families manufactured more than 700,000 masks in partnership with the Royal Humanitarian Foundation and the Khatwa Programme, and—with Batelco’s support—produced a further 60,000 masks. Remote courses delivered through social centres and centres supporting productive families benefited 6,228 individuals. 11. Nurseries: 10 new nurseries were registered, bringing the total to 92 nurseries under Ministry supervision and regulation, with a capacity of 6428 children. Necessary precautionary measures have been implemented for nurseries to combat the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). 12. Social welfare services: The number of beneficiaries of individual and group family‑counselling services and rehabilitation sessions reached 3566 individuals in 2020. Through the “Bring Us Together” initiative, the Ministry achieved family harmony and reconciliation for 89 families; communication continues with 32 families to reconcile spouses, and 42 reports on family cases were submitted to the Family Court. 13. Child Protection Centre and Batelco Child Care Home: The number of beneficiaries of Child Protection Centre services up to last November reached 384 children of both genders. Developmental and preventive programmes were provided during the same period, numbering 11 workshops, from which 330 children and adults benefited. As for the Batelco Child Care Home, 34 children resided there, and 55 social programmes were prepared for them. 14. Child Helpline 998: This free child‑support and assistance hotline receives reports of child abuse from newborns to 18 years of age. The number of cases received until November reached 60, most involving physical abuse, 30 of which were referred to the Public Prosecution. 15. Care for senior citizens: The number of day clubs licensed to serve senior citizens reached 14, and work is underway to license 5 additional clubs, as these clubs continued to provide their services remotely to more than 1600 elderly people of both genders due to precautionary measures to confront the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID‑19). The Ministry issued 165 new elderly cards during 2020, through which the elderly benefit from fee reductions for services provided by governmental and civil institutions, in addition to the transition to issuing the elderly card electronically by communicating with the Elderly Services Office remotely during the pandemic period. A number of diverse programmes were presented to enhance the quality of life of the elderly, and prosthetic devices were provided to 76 elderly people, such as wheelchairs, hearing aids and walkers. 16. Continuation of social‑centre activities: Social centres implemented 485 awareness and educational activities remotely for members of civil society institutions during 2020 across social, cultural, economic, health and educational fields, benefiting 22,931 individuals. 17. Civil society institutions: Regarding the Ministry’s support for civil society institutions, the total number of NGOS reached 644 that the Ministry follows up, supervises and regulates in accordance with the law. 7 New NGOs were registered during 2020, while the legal status of 12 associations was corrected. 18. Fundraising licences: The Ministry facilitated procedures for granting licences to collect money for charitable and humanitarian work, reaching 222 licences; licences to transfer money abroad totalled 118; and licences to receive money from abroad numbered 61. 19. Financial support for people with low incomes: The number of beneficiary families under the financial support programme for low‑income people (High Cost Allowance) reached 126,346 up to December 2020, with a total disbursed value of BD113,762,155. 20. Social Security: 17,009 citizens—families and individuals—benefited from Social Security assistance up to December 2020, with a total value of BD20,890,695. 21. Disability allowance: The disability allowance was disbursed to 12,388 citizens with disabilities, with total payments amounting to BD15,855,500 up to December 2020. 22. Housing‑fire compensation: During 2020, 51 families were compensated for housing fires. Reducing electricity and water fees: Fees were reduced for 12,754 families benefiting from the social assistance system up to the end of August 2020. 23. Cash compensation for lifting meat subsidies: Cash compensation for lifting the meat subsidy reached 169,130 beneficiary families up to October 2020, with total disbursements of BD28,369,416. 24. Rehabilitation services for people with disabilities: The total number of People of Determination in the Kingdom of Bahrain reached 12,388. More than 40 licensed private and civil centres serve this group; 12 of the civil centres receive support through the Academic Rehabilitation Grants Programme, benefiting about 699 male and female students with determination. In addition, 6 government centres—comprising rehabilitation and academic facilities managed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Development—serve 220 People of Determination. Employment initiatives placed 229 People of Determination in the private sector during 2019‑2020; 35 completed driver training in cooperation with the General Traffic Department, and 86 requests for assistive devices were fulfilled.