Bahrain has announced plans to end a controversial labour sponsorship system binding the country's foreign workers to their employers.
The decision, announced by the Gulf nation on Tuesday, marks a victory for human rights organisations who have criticised the practice.
Majeed al-Alawi, Bahrain's minister of labour, said the move will lead to a "more liberalised and dynamic" labour market, allowing expatriate workers to move from one employer to another without having to seek their sponsor's permission.
"Sponsorship is not humane. We think sponsorship is outdated," al-Alawi said.
"This will bring our laws into the 21st century."
Human rights groups complained that the sponsorship system was open to exploitation, citing instances of employers withholding pay and holding onto workers' passports.
'Human rights norms'
Under the new system, the government will take over responsibility for providing expatriate employees with work permits issued for renewable periods of two years, Al Ahmed Randhi, the chief executive of Bahrain's labour market regulatory authority, told the AFP news agency.
Randhi said the system would help Bahrain "conform to international regulations and human rights norms" .
He said it would also allow greater flexibility in matching the migrant workforce to the country's economic needs.
Foreigners make up about half of Bahrain's population of just more than one million people.
Many low-wage jobs in oil-rich Gulf nations are filled by expatriate workers, whose residency permits are often linked to a sponsoring employer.
Bahrain will become the first Gulf Arab nation to end the sponsorship system once the new rule takes effect in August.
http://english.aljazeera.net/business/2009/05/20095733344100581.html
The decision, announced by the Gulf nation on Tuesday, marks a victory for human rights organisations who have criticised the practice.
Majeed al-Alawi, Bahrain's minister of labour, said the move will lead to a "more liberalised and dynamic" labour market, allowing expatriate workers to move from one employer to another without having to seek their sponsor's permission.
"Sponsorship is not humane. We think sponsorship is outdated," al-Alawi said.
"This will bring our laws into the 21st century."
Human rights groups complained that the sponsorship system was open to exploitation, citing instances of employers withholding pay and holding onto workers' passports.
'Human rights norms'
Under the new system, the government will take over responsibility for providing expatriate employees with work permits issued for renewable periods of two years, Al Ahmed Randhi, the chief executive of Bahrain's labour market regulatory authority, told the AFP news agency.
Randhi said the system would help Bahrain "conform to international regulations and human rights norms" .
He said it would also allow greater flexibility in matching the migrant workforce to the country's economic needs.
Foreigners make up about half of Bahrain's population of just more than one million people.
Many low-wage jobs in oil-rich Gulf nations are filled by expatriate workers, whose residency permits are often linked to a sponsoring employer.
Bahrain will become the first Gulf Arab nation to end the sponsorship system once the new rule takes effect in August.
http://english.aljazeera.net/business/2009/05/20095733344100581.html
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