LMRA chief executive receives ILO delegation

Manama, Sept. 18 (BNA): The Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA)’s Chief Executive Ausama bin Abdullah Al-Absi, also Head of the National anti-trafficking-in- persons Committee, today received the ILO delegation headed by international expert Karon Monaghan also member of the ILO standards commission, and reviewed latest labour market reform steps. Al-Absi highlighted LMRA and the National Committee efforts in addressing the phenomenon of illegal workers and combating the trafficking in persons. He briefed the ILO delegation on the Authority’s efforts in this aspect as well as the package of solutions and measures that support the efforts to address this problem. The CEO cited the Flexible Work Permit which is the first of its type in the region which received international support and applause, asserting the importance of the Flexible Work Permit in providing innovative solution that will fortify the work environment and remedy the dossier of illegal workers without affecting any of the employee/employer rights. He explained the efforts being exerted by the Kingdom of Bahrain to upgrade the labour market, citing the series of legislations and resolutions approved by Bahrain to ensure the protection of expatriate workers, including the Kingdom’s establishment of Expat Workers Protection Centre, which is the first all-in-one centre to offer protection and guidance services to expatriate workers, including the sheltering of victims or persons vulnerable to trafficking. Al-Absi welcomed the cooperation between the Authority and the ILO that will serve Bahrain’s labour reform policies. He also discussed with the visiting delegation means of boosting the cooperation and mutual exchange of expertise in the fields of workers’ rights. The two sides agreed to setup a work plan for technical cooperation between the two sides especially in the field of training to boost the efficiency of national staff in the various governmental directorates. The ILO delegation expressed admiration of the LMRA achievements of regulating expatriate workers and ensuring the rights of foreign workers.