Bahrain has introduced new rules allowing expatriates in the kingdom to legally employ domestic workers in a move to end the housemaid visa black market, a report said.

The Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) has changed the way it distributes domestic worker visas, which previously were only issued to Bahrainis, reported the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Under the changes, any non-Bahraini with a residency permit valid for at least six months, who receives a salary of at least BD1,000 ($2.650) a month, can apply for a visa by paying a BD500 ($1,325) deposit.

This deposit will then be refunded to the applicant by the LMRA at the end of the domestic worker's two-year work contract provided no violations have been recorded.

A spokesman for the LMRA, which classifies cooks, drivers, aux pairs, domestic security guards, maids and gardeners as domestic workers, told the GDN that they were now handling 'daily' applications from expatriates and GCC nationals wanting to legally employ such workers.

Previously, the only way for a non-Bahraini to employ a domestic worker was with their Bahraini employer's approval, as the visa for the housemaid would be issued in the name of the employer.

It was either this, or turning to the black market where housemaid visas can fetch more than BD1,000 a time.

A General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions spokesman told the GDN that although the changes were welcome, concerns still remained over domestic workers' welfare and the existence of this black market.

'More monitoring should be done by authorities to ensure that the rights of the workers are not violated and they are paid wages on time,' said the spokesman.

'However, we feel, with the new rules, the employers will be more committed to respecting these rights.'

The hiring changes for domestic workers come on the back of a new 'unified maids contract' that has been accepted by all the member countries of the GCC.

Although still in its draft form, this contract aims at regulating the rights of domestic workers across the GCC with rules regarding leave, flights home and the right to passports.

According to LMRA figures, there are currently more than 105,000 domestic workers in Bahrain, or approximately 8.5 per cent of the population. – TradeArabia News Service