Labour Ministry: Efforts underway to ensure rights of workers laid off by delivery company

Manama, Following the termination of the contracts of a number of Bahraini workers by a private delivery company, the Labour Ministry has affirmed that it is following closely on all matters related to the contractual relations in the private sector, and seeks to reach the appropriate solutions to protect the national workforce and provide alternative job opportunities in the case of the closure of facilities. In its statement, the Labour Ministry refuted reports indicating that the closure of the delivery company's branch had been caused by the end of wage subsidy provided to workers, stressing that no wage subsidy is about to end in the upcoming period. The Labour Ministry indicated that it had summoned the employed, who affirmed that the company had decided to close its Bahrain branch, within a prior plan. The Ministry stated that it had set up a specialised work team to follow up on the closure and its reasons. Moreover, several meetings have been held between the representatives of the Labour Ministr y and the company's officials to address the reasons of the closure and provide alternatives to maintain the company's branch in Bahrain for the sake of ensuring the stability of Bahraini workers. However, the executive management of the delivery company affirmed that the closure is final and that the company is moving to alternative labour markets within its strategic plan and operating policies. The Labour Ministry said that the delivery company had affirmed its commitment to paying all wages and other entitlements to all laid-off workers, in accordance with the provisions of Law (36) of 2012 promulgating the Labour Law in the Private Sector, especially its Article (110) and Article (111) which stipulates that 'If the employer terminates the indefinite labour contract for no reason or for an illegitimate reason following the expiry of three months as of the date of the start of work, they shall undertake to compensate the worker with a compensation equivalent to the wage of two working days per each month of service, with a minimum of one month wage and a maximum of twelve months wage.' In this regard, the Labour Ministry said that the employer had paid the dismissed workers a compensation equivalent to the wage of three working days per each month of service, instead of two days, as stipulated in the Labour Law in the Private Sector, based on the request of the laid-off workers. The Ministry of Labour asserted that it is currently following up on all workers whose employment contracts have been terminated by the delivery company in a bid to find alternative and appropriate employment opportunities for them, noting that a number of employment interviews have already been conducted for these workers by a group of companies specialised in providing similar services, expressing hope that employment procedures for them will be completed as soon as possible. The Labour Ministry also indicated that all workers affected by the delivery company's branch closure will receive unemployment compensation equivalent to 6 0% of their insured wages for nine months or until their re-employment. Source: Bahrain News Agency