They are calling on the country’s leaders to cancel the fees and bring back the old sponsorship system, claiming the new rules are crippling their businesses.
The petition, which was launched by a group of traders, appeals to His Majesty King Hamad and His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa to intervene on their behalf.
The traders began circulating the petition a few months ago and more signatures were collected at a protest yesterday.
More than 250 traders took part in the demonstration from the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) to the nearby offices of Tamkeen, at the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sanabis.
This was the latest in a string of protests against a BD10 monthly tax on every foreign worker. It is collected by the LMRA and used by Tamkeen to train Bahrainis for the workplace, create jobs and support local businesses.
Protesters are also demonstrating against the scrapping of the sponsorship system, which allows foreign workers to switch jobs freely.
About 10,000 people have attended the protests over the last 18 months, claimed protester and Lion Construction Establishment general manager Hisham Mattar.
He said the petition had been signed by 1,500 businesses, but that some traders owned more than one Commercial Registration (CR).
‘People are really frustrated,’ Mattar told our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News (GDN).
‘There is no particular organisation or leader behind these protests, it’s like a union, everyone sharing the same aim in every protest.
‘All our decisions are based on our agreement at the same spot.’
Mattar said that the scrapping of the sponsorship system was having a large impact on small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
‘The employees have two-year contracts, but after six months of training, whether their sponsor likes it or not, they leave,’ he said.
Freedom
‘The term should be two years, after which they should have the freedom to move.
‘Then there are the free visa workers who are grabbing small jobs around the country, but employers are able to pay more because they don’t have to pay LMRA fees.
‘There are 43,000 to 45,000 illegal workers in the country, why isn’t more being done?
‘That’s why we have decided to ask the leadership to interfere in all this.’
Mattar said that although the LMRA fees had been implemented by law, the BCCI should still try to help those affected by raising their problems with relevant authorities.
‘The BCCI can interfere, they are the biggest business group in the country and their recommendations are really considered by the government,’ he said.
‘They say they understand what we are going through, but if they really understood then they would take action.
‘The BCCI is supposed to represent us and it not doing its job.’
Bahraini trader and protester Hussain Aroon who owns three businesses – a cold store, a workshop and construction company, claims the LMRA has ‘sucked’ all of his money.
‘More than 10 of my employees ran away and they are still under my sponsorship and I am very tired,’ he said.
‘I have seven members in my family that I support and the LMRA is taking my money and giving it to Tamkeen. This is a big problem.
‘No-one is supporting us or giving us information and the LMRA, immigration and Gosi (General Organisation for Social Insurance) kick us around like a football. I am suffering with this tax and I’m so frustrated.’
Businessman Ali Hassan, who owns the Italian Welding Workshop in Karzakan, claims the LMRA fees and scrapping of the sponsorship system are causing him many problems.
‘Our labourers are leaving us for other companies and when we ask the LMRA for a replacement visa, they ask us to wait for two years,’ he said.
‘If we have five or six people doing this, what can we do? We won’t make any profit from these people.
‘No-one is helping or supporting us and they won’t let us talk to any official there.’
