CHAPTER II
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GENERAL ORGANISATION FOR
SOCIAL INSURANCE AND ITS ADMINISTRATION

PART I

Establishment of the General Organisation

Article 7

The General Organisation shall be established, which shall have an independent budget, and shall be called the General Organisation for Social Insurance and it shall possess an independent legal entity and be subject to the supervision of the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs and its head offices shall be in the City of Manama.

The organisation shall have field offices in localities and areas to be determined by Order of the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs upon the recommendation of the Board of Directors.

PART 2

Board of Directors

Article 8

1. The General Organisation for Social Insurance would have a Board of Directors chaired by the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs. The Board would be formed by an order of the Prime Minister and shall consist of fifteen members as follows:

   a. Eight members representing the Government as follows :-

• The Undersecretary of Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
• The Director General of Directorate of Legal Affairs.
• The Director General of the General Organisation for Pension funds.
• A representative from the Prime Minister Court.
• A representative from the Bahrain Monetary Agency.
• A representative from the Ministry of Finance and National Economy.
• A representative from the Ministry of Oil and Industry.
• A representative from the Ministry of Health.
  
  

b. three members from the employers who are subject to this Law;
c. three members from the insured workers who possess higher capabilities in their work;
d. the Director General of the General Organisation for Social Insurance.

The nomination and removal of the representatives of the employers and workers on the Board should be by the Prime Minister.

2. The term of Board membership shall be three years and shall be renewable.
3. The Board shall hold at least one ordinary meeting each month at the invitation of the Chairman, and shall hold extra-ordinary meetings as deemed necessary by the Chairman or upon a request made by at least seven members. Decisions shall be made by majority vote in the presence of at least eight members of whom there shall at least be a representative of each of the employers and the workers.
4. The Board may, when required, call specialist experts to participate in its meetings who shall have no right to vote.
5. The Board may form, from amongst its members a committee or committees, for a special purpose or purposes determined by the decision for its formation and it may invite participation by specialist experts.
   
6. Remuneration of the Chairman of the Board and its members and members of committees shall be fixed by Order of the Council of Ministers on the recommendation of the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs.
   
7. The Director General shall nominate the Secretary of the Board.

Article 9

The Board of Directors shall have the following duties :-

1. supervising the implementation of the Law, regulations and Orders in force and taking all measures which it deems necessary to achieve its objectives and to improve the management of the General Organisation's business;
2. approving the administrative rules to be presented to the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs for ratification by him;
3. determining the scope of the initial implementation of the Law and determining the implementation of subsequent stages in accordance with Article 6 thereof;
4. issuing decisions and internal rules relating to financial, administrative and technical matters without being bound by government principles, regulations, rules and without recourse to the Ministry of Finance and National Economy.
   
5. approving the accounting plan, the budget estimates, financial reports and the final annual balance sheet of the General Organisation;
   
6. devising the general plan for the investment of the General Organisation's funds and approving the fields of investment;
   
7. studying legislation concerning Social Security;
8. performing other functions entrusted to it by this Law, or by Rules and Orders made in accordance with the provisions thereof or with any other legislative text;
9. appointing an actuary or actuarial experts to investigate and to prepare the financial situation of the General Organisation;
10. any other matters which may be referred to it by the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs or by the Director General.

Article 10

Decisions approved by the Board of Directors shall be referred to the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs within eight days thereof, and if not accepted within fifteen days from the date of such referral, the Board's decision thereupon shall become operative. The Minister for Labour and Social Affairs may return to the Board decisions with which he disagrees, and decisions so returned shall be placed on the agenda of the following meeting of the Board. In such event, the Board shall not maintain its original decision unless such decision is voted for by at least 12 of the members present and entitled to vote.

Article 11

The funds of the General Organisation shall be used solely for the purpose of providing the privileges, benefits, pensions and compensation prescribed in this Law and for meeting administrative expenses in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

The Board of Directors shall not allow the annual administrative expenses of the General Organisation to exceed 7% of the fund formed from the paid contributions by employers and insured persons together with the incomes derived therefrom except by Order of the Council of Ministers in which event such expenses shall not exceed 10% of such incomes.

An exemption from the limitation in the preceding paragraph may be allowed by Order of the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs during the first two years of actual implementation.

PART 3

The Director General and the Administrative Organisation

Article 12

The appointment of the Director General shall be by Order of the Council of Ministers on the recommendation of the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, and such Order shall determine the salary and allowances of the Director General who may be relieved from his post in the same manner.

The Minister for Labour and Social Affairs shall have the authority of a Minister for the purposes of personnel affairs of the General Organisation.

The Director General, employees and workers of the General Organisation shall be subject to the laws, regulations and rules in so far as governing the performance of affairs of government employees and workers.

The Director General shall represent the General Organisation before the Courts of Law and communicate with others and he shall have the following responsibilities :-

1. implementing the decisions of the Board of Directors and he shall be directly responsible to the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs and the Board of Directors;
2. managing the General Organisation and improving the methods of work and conducting and follow-up; supervising its employees who shall be bound to comply with his written orders, directives and instructions;
3. reviewing and deciding financial, administrative and technical matters which the laws, orders and rules specify to be within his authority;
4. presenting the draft budget of the General Organisation and the final accounts to the Board of Directors within three months from the date of the end of the Financial Year together with a report on the management of the business of the Organisation and an evaluation of its performance.
5. notifying the appropriate authorities of the final accounts of the General Organisation within one month after the approval and adoption thereof by the Board of Directors;
6. providing the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and Government agencies, as required, with information and reports on the activities of the General Organisation in general terms.

The Director General may delegate to other employees of the General Organisation certain of his authorities, as he may determine.

Article 14

Supervision of the accounting functions of the General Organisation shall be undertaken by financial accounts appointed from among its employees and their names and signatures shall be notified to the Ministry of Finance and National Economy and the Bahrain Monetary Agency; and such accounts only shall have the authority to sign cheques and to authorise disbursements or withdrawals for its purposes; and for each branch of insurance separate accounts shall be maintained.The Board of Directors shall allocate to each branch its share of the administrative expenses and shall determine the distribution amongst the various branches, of such revenues as do not belong to any one particular branch.