Aluminium Bahrain (ALBA) dismisses hundreds of its employees in flagrant violation of domestic laws & international conventions

Percentages of dismissed workers across the biggest companies in Bahrain

30 May 2011

Bahrain Center for human rights is deeply concerned by the persistence of the Bahraini authorities in taking actions and arbitrary penalties against citizens who it believes they participated or supported the peaceful protest movement in February and March, whereas, Bahrain authorities has dealt with a great violence with the protesters that led to dozens of deaths, especially after the army control of the streets with the Saudi’s and Emirati’s forces participant in suppressing the peaceful protesters. After declaring the Martial Law in 15th March, all segments of the society has been targeted, opposition leaders and human rights activists, doctors, engineers, teachers, journalists, athletes, schools and universities students and trade unionists both men and women, other community sectors and civil society institutions, including, workers who had suffered the most of injustice through committees which task is investigating with workers in their personal, political affiliations and religious. Thousands of workers were arbitrarily dismissed from their jobs.

Percentages of dismissed workers across the biggest companies in Bahrain

30 May 2011

Bahrain Center for human rights is deeply concerned by the persistence of the Bahraini authorities in taking actions and arbitrary penalties against citizens who it believes they participated or supported the peaceful protest movement in February and March, whereas, Bahrain authorities has dealt with a great violence with the protesters that led to dozens of deaths, especially after the army control of the streets with the Saudi’s and Emirati’s forces participant in suppressing the peaceful protesters. After declaring the Martial Law in 15th March, all segments of the society has been targeted, opposition leaders and human rights activists, doctors, engineers, teachers, journalists, athletes, schools and universities students and trade unionists both men and women, other community sectors and civil society institutions, including, workers who had suffered the most of injustice through committees which task is investigating with workers in their personal, political affiliations and religious. Thousands of workers were arbitrarily dismissed from their jobs.

On 29th May 2011, General Federation of Bahrain trade unions last statistics showed that the dismissed number of workers reached 1724 workers [1] However, the actual number is larger, this number is just the number of those who registered at the Union and not the actual number of the dismissed. Despite the convictions of several workers ‘ organizations as the International Labor Organization (ILO) [2] which visited Bahrain in the end of April, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) [3], and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) [4] which stand by the workers and against the authority violations of the Bahraini workers right, yet the authority continued its arbitrary dismissals.

General Federation of Bahrain trade unions statistics showed that Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) and Aluminium Bahrain (ALBA) has 40% of the total number of dismissed workers in Bahrain, who registered with Union workers, which make them at the top of the list. The Centre issued an earlier statement about the large unfair dismissal of worker in (BAPCO) which was on political and sectarian bases [5] where 293 workers were dismissed so far. However, the centre received a new list of workers; approximately 150 workers in (BAPCO) are waiting for the final approval of the Executive Chairman to dismiss them.

Bahrain government owns 70% of Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) shares [6], which according to the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions statistics has dismissed 364 workers. About 250 workers were dismissed without any investigation, while the company investigated with hundreds and dismissed about 100 of them. The investigation letter voided of the worker’s violation. [7] Also, the dismissal letter voided of the reasons. The Centre has documented an employee case in which he was arrested from his workplace (ALBA) and has dismissed under the pretext of absence of more than 10 consecutive days.

The Centre received a testimony of an employee who was granting the option between resignation or separation, another who is in an administrative position was given the choice of working as an operator in the factory or resigning or dismissal [9]. The company management forced a number of employees to an early retirement for medical reasons, although they have been rehabilitated and moved to another department that suits their health condition. As well as, warning a number of employees in writing and deprived a part of their annual increment. In the same context, most Shiites in the Security Department were forced to move to another department and replaced them with others.

The company has alleged that the main reason of dismissal was due to strike [10] which was called by the company’s Labor Union as well as the General Federation of Bahrain trade unions in solidarity with the protesters who were oppressed violently and sometimes using deadly forces in the pearl roundabout and the surrounding areas of Bahrain financial Harbor. The strike has continued after the Saudi, Emirati and Bahraini army declare a State of martial law at 15th March, imposing checkpoint at many unrest areas and spreading security and military forces to patrol the villages making going to work extremely dangerous. Many citizens got arrested, beaten and killed at these checkpoints, bringing the death toll more than 20 people after the Declaration of martial law, arrested more than 1,000 many of them at checkpoints and hundreds were wounded by security forces and army weapons.

However, the Centre received several testimonies from some (ALBA) workers that they were not absent from work but they were dismissed. In other testimony some workers said that they were absent from work due to deteriorating security situation and they contacted their work to tell them so; however, they got dismissed too. Although , some workers were in their annual leave or sick leave some are from Alba Health Center, it got cancelled and count it as an absent and they were dismissed.

In other testimonies, some workers said that the commissions of inquiry included questions about whether they participated in the peaceful protests calling for democracy and political rights that took place in February and March 2011, in addition to their political affiliation. The commissions of inquiry faced some of the employees with their pictures during their participation in those peaceful marches outside working hours.

These arbitrary actions taken by (ALBA) is a revenge for the employees political affiliation and exercising their rights which is guaranteed by the constitution and international covenants, in which punishing the employees just for their views, political activities and sectarian affiliation, all this is against ILO Convention No. 111 concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation- Article 1 (any distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation.) and in contrary with International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. On the other hand, it has violated article 113-4 of Bahrain labour law of 1976, (If the worker absents himself without reasonable cause for more than twenty days in one year or for more than ten consecutive days, provided that such dismissal shall be preceded by warning in writing by the employer to the worker after an absence of ten days in the former instance and an absence of five days in the latter instance.)

Bahrain Center for Human Rights has noticed similarity in the procedures in many workplaces in Bahrain in terms of investigation and the quality of the questions which were based on personal and political dimension of the employee, which failed to comply with international conventions and domestic laws and regulations. This confirms the suspicion of Bahrain authorities’ guidelines to the officials to dismiss this large numbers of workers in retaliation of their political and religious beliefs.

In attempting to impose political opinion on the employees, the company’s management requested the company’s directors to inform all the employees ( the importance and necessity) to sign the loyalty to the country and the ruling family known swords of loyalty [11], a formal petition commanded by Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad, the King’s son.

Bahrain Center for Human Rights demands the following:

1. Stop the unfair dismissal in Alba and the rest premises and return all dismissed to their work.
2. Returns all the employees who were transferred due to the sectarian or political backgrounds to their original job in Alba.
3. Form an independent Commission to investigate the dismissal actions to find out whether it has political or sectarian motivation.
4. Ask U.S. administration to stop the free trade agreement with Bahrain, unless it retrogress the explicit violation of the items related to guarantee labor rights and trade union required by the terms of the agreement of labor.

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