Bahrain's business community has won a reprieve from the government, which yesterday extended a nationwide freeze on a foreign worker tax.

It agreed to suspend Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) fees until the end of the year, during the weekly Cabinet meeting chaired by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa at Gudaibiya Palace.

The fees have not been imposed since April last year in an attempt to ease pressure on companies suffering as a result of the unrest and global economic challenges.

Business leaders had been lobbying for an extension of the freeze, which was due to end yesterday, and a study will now be conducted to assess the viability of the scheme going forward.

The ministerial committee for financial and economic affairs will conduct the survey in co-operation with the Industry and Commerce Ministry, while the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be engaged in efforts to identify alternative schemes.

Results of the study will be submitted to the government in November.

The fees were introduced in 2008 and required companies to pay BD10 a month for every expatriate they employed, in addition to a BD200 payment every time an expat's contract was renewed.

That money was intended to fund training programmes and other Tamkeen initiatives to boost the number of skilled Bahrainis in the job market and support local businesses.