08 June 2011
Mr. Juan Somavia
Director General, International Labor Organization
Greetings,
Sub: Letter on the Deterioration of Laborers’ Rights in the Kingdom of Bahrain
We would like first of all to cordially extend our thanks for your precise follow-up on the laborers’ conditions in Bahrain; for the tremendous efforts as reflected in the various statements in which you declared your deep concern on the deteriorating situation of the Bahraini workforce; and for the ILO Delegation that visited Bahrain at the end of April to look into the working conditions of laborers. This led to the assembly of a committee chaired by the Labor Minister to address the issues pertaining to the cases of mass lay-offs.
08 June 2011
Mr. Juan Somavia
Director General, International Labor Organization
Greetings,
Sub: Letter on the Deterioration of Laborers’ Rights in the Kingdom of Bahrain
We would like first of all to cordially extend our thanks for your precise follow-up on the laborers’ conditions in Bahrain; for the tremendous efforts as reflected in the various statements in which you declared your deep concern on the deteriorating situation of the Bahraini workforce; and for the ILO Delegation that visited Bahrain at the end of April to look into the working conditions of laborers. This led to the assembly of a committee chaired by the Labor Minister to address the issues pertaining to the cases of mass lay-offs.
Although such a committee was formed, the number of laborers being laid off is accelerating day after day. The estimates released by The General Federation of Workers Trade Unions in Bahrain show that, as of May 29, 2011 the total number of sacked laborers reached 1724 [1]. The actual number, however, is even greater than this as it incorporates only the laborers who reported their cases to the Union and not the total number who have actually been laid off. According to the same statistics, Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) and Bahrain Aluminum (Alba), of which the government of Bahrain owns 100% and 70% respectively, have topped the list for layoffs, accounting for around 40% of the total number of sacked laborers in Bahrain.
ALBA has dismissed 364 laborers. About 250 of these were dismissed without any Interrogation. ALBA alleges that the main reason for dismissal was due to participation in the strike which was called by the company’s Trade Union as well as the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions in solidarity with the protesters who were violently oppressed. However, Bahrain Center of Human Rights (BCHR) received several testimonies from some ALBA laborers that they were not absent from work but were still dismissed. Other laborers said that they were absent from work due to the deteriorating security situation, or due to annual or sick leave however they were also dismissed. BCHR has documented a case in which an ALBA laborer was arrested from his workplace and dismissed under the pretext of an absence of more than 10 consecutive days. Other employees were given the option of either resignation, demotion or immediate dismissal [2].
BCHR has also investigated cases of dismissed laborers working for Bapco, which BCHR believes to have been carried out on sectarian and political grounds [3]. As of May 10, 2011, 293 laborers have been laid off. BCHR also has information asserting the intention of the said company to sack 150 laborers over the coming period with the list of employees to be fired pending the approval of the company CEO. Furthermore, BCHR has received dozens of leaked documents from Bapco emphasizing that the dismissal was arbitrary and violated local laws and international conventions. Such decisions were made on the grounds of punishing those laborers for their political beliefs. Please find attached herein some documents representing excerpts of interrogation statements with some laborers along with a list containing the employees’ names who were already interrogated and were mostly recommended to be dismissed. With the careful scrutiny of such documents, the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. Interrogation proceedings centered around the days of absence due to the crackdown and the response of the laborer going on strike called for by The General Federation of Workers Trade Unions in Bahrain and Trade Union of Bapco Employees. The interrogation sessions included questions related to the laborer’s participation in the prodemocracy protests. Some of the employees were faced with pictures obtained from notoriously unreliable resources as evidence of participating in the demonstrations.
2. The Interrogation Committee has counted the days off as absenteeism, in a clear breach to provision 4 of Article 113 of The Labour Law for the Private Sector, 1976 [4]. It is important to mention that Bapco’s management did not adhere to the provisions contained in the aforementioned article stipulating that an employer shall give a written notice to the employee after an absence of five alternate days or after an absence of ten non-consecutive.
3. The Interrogation Committees gave no respect to the employees excuses for being absent on the grounds of the unsecure situation of the country in the wake of the crackdown, notwithstanding the company’s explicit directions stressing that “if any occurrences cause the employees to feel insecure leaving their homes, they should consider their safety as paramount and notify their supervisors as soon as possible”.[5]
4. Employees were punished for their political views and activities in a clear violation of provision (a) in Article 1 of the ILO’s ‘C111 Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958’, that stipulates “An act of discrimination shall include (a) any distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of race, colour, 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”. It should be noted that all dismissed people from Bapco are Shiite Muslims. This figure represents around 30% of the total number of Shiites in Bapco.
5. Some employees were punished on suspicion of going on strike despite the fact that the strike was called for by The General Federation of Workers Trade Unions in Bahrain and Trade Union of Bapco Employees, both entities being duly authorized and incorporated as per the applicable laws of the Kingdom and whose members are elected. The strike continued after the deployment of Bahraini, Saudi, and Emirati army troops on the streets and with the declaration of the martial law on March 15, 2011. This was later followed by spreading out check-points all over the island and letting military and police vehicles patrol all neighborhoods, making it extremely difficult for laborers to get to their places of work. Likewise, a vast number of citizens were either arrested or brutally beaten with more than 20 murdered following the announcement of martial law. More than 1000 citizens were arrested and many were wounded by the military and police at check-points.
Kindly note that BCHR will be more than happy to supply any documents we currently have at hand should you require them to draw a clearer picture of the violations being carried out by the regime against laborers’ rights in Bahrain.
Once again, please accept our sincere thanks.
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
[1] http://www.alwasatnews.com/3187/news/read/563517/1.html[2] http://bahrainrights.org/en/node/4178
[3] http://bahrainrights.org/en/node/4100
[4] http://www.upr.bh/hrbc/The_Labour_Law
[5] Circular issued by Bapco Management on March 14, 2011
Samples of the records of the investigation at Bapco Bahrain Petroleum Company – Click on image for a larger view
Sample of documents showing summary of the recommendations of the commissions of investigation at Bapco Bahrain Petroleum Company – Click on image for a larger view
