Bahrain Mirror: The Executive Officer of the Labor Market Regulatory Authority, Osama al-Absi, announced a date for the implementation of the flexible work permit system, specified in the second quarter of 2017.

At the press conference held at the headquarters of the Authority on Saturday (October 29, 2016), al-Absi denied that the new system, decided to receive 2000 monthly requests, is a formal acknowledgment that the bulk of employment has become unavoidable for Bahrain. He further praised the work of the authority in developing the labor market systems.

Al-Absi also noted several systems and decisions that might come to light, saying, "The authority will not stop developing and creating new programs."

In addition, al-Absi, explained the features of the new system and its details, he said: "The system targets providing the legal alternative for the employment bulk, and states that the authority issues a renewable work permit for 2 years. By means of this permit, the newcomer worker [who has violated rules], has the ability to work temporarily for any employer, whether on a commercial or individual registration." He added that the system provides any employer with the right to implement the temporary flexible employment system, in a full or partial sense, followed by the calculating system of ours, days, or weeks. The foreign worker is allowed to work for more than 1 employer in more than one job, at different times, al-Absi also clarified. He noted that the goal behind this is to grant the economy enough flexibility.

"Along with informing [the authorities], the system requires the worker to attain a special card, renewable every 6 months, and the worker can attain that through sending an SMS to a phone designated by the Authority, through which they will also inform him if the request was granted or not," al-Absi went on to say.

Arabic Version