Bahrain's MPs have voted to freeze until January the BD10 monthly fee for every expatriate employee, levied on employers by the Labour Market Regulatory Authority.

MPs said the government should renegotiate with the employers, following a wave of protests over the fees.

Parliament also voted to make the current unemployment insurance tax voluntary, effectively crippling support for jobless Bahrainis, warned Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi.

'This is wrong. We will lose 75 per cent of the fund's income, which comes from expatriate workers' contributions and their employers,' said Dr Al Alawi.

He said foreign workers in particular would opt out, since unemployment to them meant being sent home, so they would not benefit from the fund.

But MPs insisted that contributions be voluntary, saying those who did not pay would not be covered by the scheme should they become unemployed.

Workers, employers and the government each contribute the equivalent of one per cent of the employee's salary to the fund.

Both resolutions must now go to the Shura Council.-TradeArabia News Service