ArchivesTag : labour
Dubai police chief calls to scrap sponsorship
Dubai’s police chief on Wednesday called for controversial labour laws that restrict the free movement of workers to be scrapped. Lt Gen Dhahi Khalfan Tamim described the sponsorship system as a “burden†on the UAE’s economy and local population, UAE daily the National reported on its website. “Employment contracts should be between companies and employees,†[...]
Full StoryPower in numbers
It was Bahrain’s largest strike in recent history. it was the day when several thousand workers from Al Hamad Contracting downed tools and demanded their wages. There was a buzz of excitement around the Al Hamad labour camp on the outskirts of Bahrain’s industrial area of Askar. We were the first reporters to visit the [...]
Full StoryStrike over as Al Hamad accepts worker demands
Thousands of striking workers for Al Hamad Contracting in Bahrain will return to work this morning after their demands for wages were met, according to sources within the company. The workers, said to number between 5000 and 7000, yesterday called a mass strike claiming they had not been paid for two and a half months. [...]
Full StoryUnion raps ‘coercion’ of workers
BAHRAIN’S construction companies have been accused of waging a campaign to intimidate workers who join trade unions, according to a report issued yesterday. The Belgium-based International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) said it was “very worried” about a series of violations revealed in the annual survey of union rights. It found workers were discouraged from union [...]
Full StoryWildcat Strike
Thousands of workers at a major Bahrain construction company staged a wildcat strike over pay yesterday. More than 5,000 workers at Al Hamad Construction and Development Company claimed they had not been paid salaries ranging from BD60 to BD90 for two months. They also accused the company of delaying repatriation of the bodies of their [...]
Full StoryAl Wefaq seeks delay in move to scrap Bahrain sponsorship system
Pressure is mounting on the labour minister to revoke or at least freeze a decision to scrap the sponsorship system that would allow foreign workers to switch jobs with the consent of employers. Al Wefaq, Bahrain’s largest political society and parliamentary bloc, on Monday became the latest formation to ask Majeed Al Alawi to postpone [...]
Full StoryLaboured Reform
Bahrain is planning a major overhaul of the laws and conditions governing foreign labour, with proposed reforms giving greater protection to the rights of expatriate workers. One of the central changes involves restructuring the visa system. Previously, foreign staff have had their permits to stay issued through their employers. The existing scheme has come under [...]
Full StoryOpen trucks ban ‘to cost BD1bn’
A ban on using lorries, trucks and other unsafe vehicles to transport workers could cost the construction industry BD1 billion, it was claimed yesterday. Firms have time until the end of the year to replace their makeshift transport with proper air-conditioned buses. However, Bahrain Contractors’ Society president Nedham Kameshki said the move would have major [...]
Full StoryLabour Arguments
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 [...]
Full StoryUnion backs protesting workers
Bonny Mascarenhas Ignoring the basic rights of workers, including nationals and expatriates, has led to the current strike situation in the Kingdom, the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) said in a statement yesterday. “We witnessed the worst forms of exploitation and violation of the fundamental rights of workers, including the work environment, housing [...]
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