Thousands of Bangladeshi migrant workers in Bahrain have lost their jobs due to the prevailing situation. According to Bangladesh’s leading English daily, thousands of Bangladeshi migrant workers in Bahrain have been affected by the pandemic.

Speaking to Daily Star, Sheikh Mohammed Tauhidul Islam, Labour welfare counsellor at the Bangladesh Embassy in Manama, highlighted that Bangladeshi workers in Bahrain turned unemployed following many on-going projects shut due to the coronavirus pandemic. Of the job losses reported, over 70% to 80% of the affected were Bangladeshi nationals.

Over 2,000 Bangladeshi workers who were involved in the construction sector lost their jobs since the pandemic, he added. Tauhidul, however, said that Bahrain's economy would revamp quickly.

Embassy sources also reported that at least 12,600 undocumented Bangladeshi migrant workers have so far applied to get regularised under an amnesty programme declared by Bahrain government in early April. As many Bangladeshis are expected to be legalised under the amnesty programme, the job losses will not affect Bangladesh's labour market there greatly he added.

Bahrain is home to about 150,000 Bangladeshis. About 70% of them are low-paid workers in the construction sector. Besides, several thousand Bangladeshis, both male and female, are serving as household workers there, according to the Bangladesh mission in the country.

Bangladesh embassy also plans to train unemployed workers in developing specialized skills that would be required for employment in several sectors in the near future. He further added that some of the sectors would include the shipbuilding industry, welding, and electrical. Besides, Bahrain's finance, services, tourism and manufacturing sectors are also vibrant, he added.

SOURCE: ALBILAD