Archive for July, 2009

The Reformer

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

by Andrew

Sunday, 19 July 2009
Al Alawi’s initiatives have lowered the unemployment in Bahrain from more than 15 percent to less than five in the last 16 months alone.

Bahrain’s business community, political societies, religious bodies and lawmakers have often lobbied hard against Al Alawi’s reforms.

(more…)

New fee blow!

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

FISHERMEN already on the verge of financial ruin have been hit by a new insurance fee for Indian workers.

The Indian Embassy has introduced a BD950 fee per expatriate which sponsors have to pay into an Indian bank account before they come to Bahrain.

Fishermen are due to raise the issue with Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa during a meeting today.

They say the fee will be a major burden, costing them hundreds of thousands of dinars. (more…)

Expat workers soar by 19%

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

A FOREIGN recruitment drive saw Bahraini firms employ more expats than ever during the 12 months leading up to the end of March, according to new figures released by the government.

A total of 71,000 foreign workers were hired since March last year, swelling the country’s expat workforce by 18.8 per cent.

Expats accounted for around two-thirds of Bahrain’s workforce by the end of the first quarter of this year.

(more…)