Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04MANAMA1390
2004-09-08 15:08:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Manama
Cable title:  

CROWN PRINCE DISCUSSES PLANNED LABOR REFORM

Tags:  PGOV PREL ELAB ECON BA 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 001390 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/07/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL ELAB ECON BA
SUBJECT: CROWN PRINCE DISCUSSES PLANNED LABOR REFORM
INITIATIVE


Classified by Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 001390

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/07/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL ELAB ECON BA
SUBJECT: CROWN PRINCE DISCUSSES PLANNED LABOR REFORM
INITIATIVE


Classified by Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (C) During the Ambassador's September 5 introductory call
on Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa (septel),the CP
said that his office was organizing a national debate on
labor law reforms. The initiative stems from Bahrain's
desire to move away from an economy based upon a low cost
labor model to a high skills, and later an information
management-based economy, along the lines of Singapore.


2. (C) The CP said that the expected reforms would be huge
and controversial. Currently, a foreign worker received a
work permit tied to a specific employer, and the worker has
no legal status outside of his/her employment. This has led
to low wages and difficult working conditions. Additionally,
employers would rather hire a foreigner than a Bahraini, who
would demand better pay and conditions.


3. (C) The CP said that the reforms would remove the link
between the foreign worker and a single employer and he/she
would have the right to seek any employment in the country as
long as either the worker or his/her employer pays a monthly
fee of $250 to keep the work permit valid. Thus the
differential between the cost of a foreign worker and a
Bahraini worker would decrease and employers would have an
incentive to invest in the skills of their employees through
training to boost retention. The CP argued that the market
would control the demand for foreign labor rather than a
regulation from the government in the form of a mandatory
"Bahrainization" campaign. He noted that the new rules would
apply to household help - maids, nannies, housekeepers - as
well as other types of workers.


4. (C) The Crown Prince explained that the national debate
would be launched on September 23 and would continue through
Ramadan, which ends in mid-November. At the end of November,
there will be a concluding conference with the participation
of politicians, political societies, ministers, labor
representatives, and international experts. The conference
will produce a draft labor law that will be reviewed by the
Cabinet and forwarded to the parliament. He noted that his
office will guide this process from behind the scenes, but
the Economic Development Board will be the public face. He
hoped that future Bahraini success in the labor field could
serve as a model for other regional countries, such as Saudi
Arabia, which also host large communities of foreign workers.

MONROE