Bahrainization

Bahrainization is the Bahraini government's effort to increase the proportion of Bahraini citizens in the country's workforce.[1] Bahrainization involves directives requiring companies to hire Bahraini workers,[2] as well as government-provided training for Bahraini citizens to make them more competitive in the workforce.[3]

History and examples

Aspects of Bahrainization can be found in policies from as early as the 1970s.[1] In the 1980s, the government introduced the "Ten Thousand Scheme", a project to train Bahraini citizens for private sector work.[3]

Bahrainization is often implemented through government directives aimed at specific sectors, such as hospitality, travel, or the private sector as a whole.[2] For example, in the 1990s the government instituted a requirement that only Bahraini citizens could be taxi drivers,[1][2] and in the 2000s, similar requirements were implemented for truck drivers and workers at petrol stations.[2] Policies sometimes include quotas for the percentage of Bahraini workers in companies in a particular sector.[2]

An example of a Bahrainization-related policy quoted in Andrew Gardner's ethnography City of Strangers is as follows: "Firms are requested to increase employment of nationals by 5 percent a year until one-half of the labor force is Bahraini. New establishments employing 10 or more workers are required to have 20 percent Bahrainis in their workforce, with further annual increase of 5 percent until 50 percent is reached. Firms of less than 10 employees must employ at least one Bahraini other than the owner."[2]

Impact

Bahrainization has been credited for increasing the labor participation rate of Bahraini women.[4] In 2016, Bahrain's private-sector female labor participation rate was only 11.3%, but among Bahraini citizens the corresponding rate was 30%.[4]

Bahrainization policies sometimes have a negative effect on Bahrain's foreign workers.[1] Some foreign workers, including foreign business owners, worry that the changing policies might put their livelihoods at risk.[1] The policies have caused some foreign residents to leave the country; for example, from the 1990s to the 2000s the Lions Club in Riffa saw its membership fall from 75 to less than 40, a decline that was attributed to members moving away because of Bahrainization.[5]

Comparisons with other Gulf states

Bahrainization is a form of workforce nationalization (also known as "Gulfization"), similar to Qatarization, Emiratization, and Saudization.[6] Like other Gulfization programs, Bahrainization involves quotas for what fraction or number of employees must be citizens.[7] However, the situation in Bahrain differs from other Gulf countries in some ways; when the quotas were introduced in 1995, Bahrain already had a higher citizen participation rate in the workforce than other Gulf countries.[4]

See also

References
  1. Gardner, Andrew (2010). "4. Strategic Transnationalism: The Indian Diasporic Elite". City of Strangers: Gulf Migration and the Indian Community in Bahrain. Ithaca. ISBN 978-0801476020.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. Gardner, Andrew (2010). "7. The Invigorated State: Transnationalism, Citizen, and State". City of Strangers: Gulf Migration and the Indian Community in Bahrain. Ithaca. ISBN 978-0801476020.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. Shaw, R. Paul (15 May 2015). Mobilizing Human Resources in the Arab World (RLE Economy of Middle East). Routledge. p. 186. ISBN 978-1-317-59322-5.
  4. Kamrava, Mehran (21 May 2020). The "Resource Curse" in the Persian Gulf. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-72709-8. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  5. Gardner, Andrew (2010). "5. The Public Sphere: Social Clubs and Voluntary Associations in the Indian Community". City of Strangers: Gulf Migration and the Indian Community in Bahrain. Ithaca. ISBN 978-0801476020.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. Bawole, Justice Nyigmah; Hossain, Farhad; Ghalib, Asad K.; Rees, Christopher J.; Mamman, Aminu (4 October 2016). Development Management: Theory and practice. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-23840-9. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  7. Burke, Ronald J.; Noblet, Andrew; Cooper, Cary L. (1 January 2013). Human Resource Management in the Public Sector. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-85793-732-2. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
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