New Law in Bahrain Makes Life Easy For OFWs

The Philippine Embassy in Bahrain wishes to inform overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there about the recent decision of the Bahrain government to make labor policy for foreign workers relatively easier. This news is said to benefit the estimated 40,000 Filipinos employed in the said country.

According to Charge d'áffaires Jose Dela Rosa Burgos, the new sponsorship rule in Bahrain would allow foreign workers to transfer to a new company without the need to submit a no-objection certificates (NoC) that are given by their previous employer.

The new policy was announced in May of this year and its implementation started at the start of this month (August) despite objections of Bahrain’s business sector.

The Labor Undersecretary of Bahrain, Jameel Humadan said that even if the new policy would make it easier for foreign workers the right to transfer to another employer, the sponsorship rule is not completely abolished.  He also said that including this policy in their Labor Market Regulatory Law would paint a positive image of Bahrain in the international community.

Humadan said, “The right of expatriate workers to shift jobs without no-objection letters from their employers is part of the clause in the Labor Market Regulatory Law that had been in effect since last year. We gave enough grace period for the decision to be implemented."

Bahrain decided to implement the new policy after receiving criticisms from the public and private sectors that their country is not committed to international labor laws because they protect the welfare of the entrepreneurs more.

There is also a possibility that other countries that hire expatriate workers would follow what the government of Bahrain did.

The Philippine Embassy in Bahrain wants to spread this news to all Filipino workers in the said country so they will be aware of this new privilege and there is no chance for them to be tricked by employers.