Former US president Bill Clinton stressed the importance of minimum wage standards in the Gulf while on a recent trip to Bahrain. He said that by implementing a minimum wage, a faithful workforce with employment mobility would be ensured.
Clinton commented that current wages in Bahrain were not keeping up with regional inflation, and pointed out how the United States' economy benefited from a minimum wage.
Clinton's comments were made at a conference of the Economic Development Board, under the patronage of Crown Prince, BDF Commander-in-Chief and EDB chairman Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa,according to <i>TradeArabia</i>.
Top government officials including cabinet ministers, parliament and Shura Council members, as well as business leaders attended the event, held at the Bahrain Ritz Carlton.
Clinton warned that overdependence on Bahrain's public sector could have negative results.
"Fifty per cent of the GDP in Bahrain come from the public sector," he said, adding, "It is difficult to sustain productivity and growth if we rely too much on the public sector."
He suggested the creation of more small and medium businesses in the private sector, as well as improving the skills of the labor force.
Clinton also praised Bahrain's attempt to empower women, saying, "It is difficult to build a modern economy without empowering women who constitute half the population."
