Jobless Bahraini graduates have called for independent experts to investigate what they claim is the growing problem of unemployment in the country.

The Unemployed Graduates Society, which was formally launched yesterday, plans to lobby government departments and international bodies with a list of demands.

These include an urgent review of Bahrain's unemployment programmes, a study of the problems faced by the government in trying to solve the issue, a ban on ministries outsourcing their work to people from overseas and 'proper statistics' of the number of unemployed graduates.

The move was announced during a meeting held at the National Democratic Action Society (NDAS) in Umm Al Hassam, attended by around 60 unemployed graduates.

They included people who had been unemployed for up to eight years, said organisers.

'This letter will reflect problems faced by all unemployed graduates in Bahrain and will contain as many signatures as possible,' said society member Manal Abdul Samad.

'We are expecting to collect at least 500 signatures a week and we've got around 60 already from people who attended the meeting.

'We will distribute the forms in the main areas of Bahrain, especially crowded places.

'We hope to submit the letters to the concerned ministries and international societies within four weeks.

'The problem of unemployment is getting worse and in another year it will increase dramatically.'

Statistics

According to the latest Labour Ministry figures, there are around 5,000 unemployed graduates qualified at least to diploma level, Ms Samad said.

'One of our demands includes getting the proper statistics of unemployed graduates in Bahrain because the government never state the exact figures.

'Also we want a third party, like Tamkeen or an organisation from outside Bahrain, to study the current unemployment problem in detail and make the findings public.

'We request an urgent review of the current programmes by the government for unemployed graduates - to find its strengths and weaknesses.

'For example, the government claims that around 80 per cent of graduates have a weak command of the English language which we don't accept.

'If that is the case then there is something definitely wrong with the education here because most of us have studied in government schools and graduated from Bahrain University.'

The society also called for an urgent review of the problems faced by ministries and other concerned bodies in solving the problem of unemployment.

'We also demand permanent jobs in ministries and government offices,' said Samad.

'We don't want a temporary contract but permanent work with a minimum salary of BD400.

'The position offered should also be relevant to the candidate's qualifications.

'We also suggest that ministries stop outsourcing their work to other countries while Bahrain already has the required human resources.'

The society, made up of unemployed graduates, claims to have around 600 members.

Among those attending the launch were society members Yousif Kharzakani, Hisham Al Ayoobi and Iman Al Hedeashy.-TradeArabia News Service