Sponsorship system to be scrapped
The Minister of Labour, Dr Majeed bin Mohsin Al Alawi, yesterday declared that abolition of the sponsorship system would be his mission for next year.
Participating in an interactive session on amnesty with a 300-strong Indian community at the Indian club in the presence of visiting Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, E Ahamed, Dr Al Alawi, however, did not elaborate further on the subject but made it clear that the sponsorship system was on its way out.
Dr Al Alawi advised the gathering not to allow any person to hold onto his or her passport. “It is a violation of your human rights and you should not let anyone do that. Stand up and defend your rights and don’t let someone grab it from you,” the minister asserted.
Sponsorship system to be scrapped
The Minister of Labour, Dr Majeed bin Mohsin Al Alawi, yesterday declared that abolition of the sponsorship system would be his mission for next year.
Participating in an interactive session on amnesty with a 300-strong Indian community at the Indian club in the presence of visiting Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, E Ahamed, Dr Al Alawi, however, did not elaborate further on the subject but made it clear that the sponsorship system was on its way out.
Dr Al Alawi advised the gathering not to allow any person to hold onto his or her passport. “It is a violation of your human rights and you should not let anyone do that. Stand up and defend your rights and don’t let someone grab it from you,” the minister asserted.
A businessman pointed out to the minister that passports were kept as security against employees running away or cheating the sponsor. “If the worker has the passport with him, he can leave anytime without our knowledge. What other security do we have to ensure that the worker does not leave?” the man asked.
Dr Al Alawi countered the question by asking: “Do you keep the passport of your Bahraini employees as security against their cheating or running away?”
When he got a reply in the negative, he remarked: “There you go, why do you need to keep the passport of an expatriate as security?” On the amnesty, he said: “For many, the reason of the amnesty may be about legal and economic implications, but the reason I support it is for humanitarian reasons. It is a chance for every person who is residing in Bahrain illegally to leave in dignity.”
Bonny Mascarenhas