Hundreds of firms in Bahrain have been in trouble for failing to pay their worker fees. Many others are being prosecuted for failing to update their records with the authorities.

Confronted by the LMRA’s threat, the small and medium-sized businesses that have fallen under the axe have formed a committee to protest against the crackdown. They have urged the authorities to look into the court cases and scrap the fines and fees. In a protest last week, business owners and contractors waved placards and made speeches at the LMRA headquarters in Sanabis, urging the government to remove a monthly US $26.50 (BHD10) fee paid by employers for every expatriate worker.

The protestors told the press that the law is damaging small businesses in Bahrain by driving up the labour costs. One small-business owner said that ‘I have seven workers and cannot afford $185 (BHD70) a month,’ he said. ‘We cannot afford to pay our own children’s school fees because of these costs,’ he added.

The LMRA, which has received hundreds of phone calls from business owners, is standing behind its decision. LMRA’s spokesman said that the firms are protesting because they are not making enough profits, ‘but 3 per cent of labour fees is not much.’ He added that the enforcement of labour fees is important as 80 per cent of the proceeds go towards the Labour Fund which implements training and consultancy programmes to improve the productivity of workers and profitability of the businesses.