MANAMA: Relocating labor camps and restricting bachelors from residing in residential areas is not within the law, a minister told lawmakers.
Municipalities and Agriculture Affairs Minister Juma Al-Kaabi told lawmakers that they had no legal authority to shift labor camps or stop bachelors from living in residential areas.
“We do not have a legal right to come down heavily on these labor camps. Bahraini families have complained about the issue and we are conducting inspection visits at these accommodations,” the minister said in a written reply to MPs’ questions in the Parliament.
Lawmakers are pushing for the enactment of a law that may force sponsors to accommodate workers at places where families don’t live.
A national plan is also being drafted to relocate labor camps away from residential areas. Civic authorities have started to work on the plan by warning landlords not to rent their flats to bachelors. Safety, hygiene and overcrowding are some of the key issues checked by ministry inspectors as these are often violated. In 2006, 16 Indian workers perished in a fire in their labor camp in Gudabiya. Major companies have their own labor accommodations while other companies are finding areas where the workers have easy access to shops and entertainment.
Thousands of laborers, mostly in the construction sector, are scattered in various districts, as the labor camp zones have not been established. Mostly Indians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis live in these camps.
