New Labour Reforms Will Benefit Women in Bahrain

The Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) announced that there will be major reforms to the labour market to be implemented this year and women are the biggest beneficiaries.

Chief Executive of the LMRA Ausamah Al Absi stated that expat women may soon be able to sponsor their husbands. This marks a huge step in making them on par with working men. Another significant change will be that housewives already in Bahrain will be able to start working without having to change their original sponsor. This will allow many women to join the labour force and hence adding new talent and skills that will certainly benefit the country.

No dates have been confirmed yet for when this will come into effect. 

Other changes include a law making it mandatory for employers to deposit the salaries in the bank accounts belonging to domestic and unskilled workers, in order to maintain transparency and ensure the fulfilment of contractual obligations. This will be finalised this year and should be put into effect by 2018. 

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These changes follow the flexible work permits system that was announce a few months ago. It serves as an alternative to hiring illegal workers. This permit with monthly renewal allows expats to work temporarily for a company or a person, but only if the job does not require a professional licence. It’s only available for expats whose records show that they’re “illegal” but not runaways.

These new changes are a big step towards ensuring workers’ rights remain protected and that the labour market is fair towards both men and women.