Labour Arguments
by mahmood on 15/02/08 at 7:09 pm
Work has resumed at one of Bahrain’s biggest construction projects, after six days of strike action led by foreign labourers seeking better pay and conditions.
On February 14, workers at the Durrat Al Bahrain construction site, a $6bn tourism and recreation development, ended a nearly week-long strike, after receiving a verbal agreement from management to consider their demands.
George Zachariades, company director for GP Zachariades, the contractor responsible for building villas at the site, told local press, “We will be studying the workers’ requests and get back to them after four days.”
On February 9, workers on the site downed tools, demanding base wages be increased to $265 per month from the present level that in some cases is reported to be below $160, and that a lack of medical facilities and hot water at their camp be addressed.
The action followed a two-day stoppage last week by 750 employees of the Almoayyed Contracting Group. Local press reported the labourers returned to their jobs when their salaries were increased.
On February 12, Labour Minister Majid Al Alawi announced that a special commission had been established to settle the disputes, which had been deemed illegal because they contravene the contracts signed by each of the workers.
Samir Nass, the head of the contracting committee of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, warned that industrial action was threatening to delay a number of key developments and adding to the financial burden of companies.
“The contractors have planned billions of dinars of projects on these salaries and they cannot pay more,” Nass was quoted as saying on February 11. “All workers have come to Bahrain after being aware of what they would be getting and have signed contracts. They can go back if they want, but not strike.”
Nass also warned that some contractors were looking to send their Indian workers home and recruit new labourers from other countries, a measure that would not be in India’s best interests.
The same day, India’s ambassador to Manama, Balkrishna Shetty, said that while it was up to employers to act as they saw fit in regard to existing contracted labour, the Indian government had set a new minimum wage of $265 per month for new contracts, set to begin in March, due to the rising costs of living and the falling value of various foreign currencies against the Indian rupee.
“In Bahrain, the dinar is linked to dollar and the value of rupee has gone up by at least 20% in recent months,” Shetty said. “This means the savings of the Indian worker here have also dropped substantially.”
The ambassador also warned that, with wages in India rising, employers should also take into account the value of Indian workers rather than risk losing their staff.
“Indian workers in the Gulf have been highly admired for their discipline, competence, loyalty and productivity,” he said. “We are confident that good companies will consider salaries not as a cost but as an investment.”
The strikers have received some support, with the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) issuing a statement that Indian workers have the same right as Bahrainis to fight for better conditions.
While some employers have flagged the possibility of improvements in conditions at some sites, and both the Bahraini government and the Indian embassy encouraged the strikers to go back to work, the underlying causes of the industrial action look unlikely to be resolved soon. This could either result in more stoppages or a drifting away of the construction sector’s workforce.
The dissatisfaction of many expatriate workers in Bahrain was reflected in the results of a survey conducted by financial news service Arabian Business. The study, released in early February, showed that 69% of Indian and Pakistani workers in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries were unhappy with their jobs and would probably quit. The report further said that rising inflation would mean businesses in Bahrain and across the Gulf might have difficulty in retaining staff in 2008.
