As A Means of Blackmailing, Forced Labor and Slavery
A Report by: The Bahrain Center for Human Rights
26th September 2005
As A Means of Blackmailing, Forced Labor and Slavery
A Report by: The Bahrain Center for Human Rights
26th September 2005
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) is gravely concerned over the increasing phenomenon of holding back or confiscating passports and travel documents of migrant workers by sponsors, recruitment agents or their companies, and forbidding those workers from traveling. Such actions are taken in an attempt to blackmail the workers, force them to achieve illegitimate advantages or concede their salaries and indemnities which were gained through the years, taking advantage of their desperation in seeing their homes and families after years of separation.
According to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, the term “migrant worker” refers to a person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national.
Clause 21 of the same Convention implies that it shall be unlawful for anyone, other than a public official duly authorized by law, to confiscate, destroy or attempt to destroy identity documents, documents authorizing entry to or stay residence or establishment in the national territory or work permits and no authorized confiscation of such documents shall take place without delivery of a detailed receipt. Furthermore it states that: in no case shall it be permitted to destroy the passport or equivalent document of a migrant worker or a member of his or her family. The Bahraini Constitution also prohibits limiting the freedom of movement, unless dictated by the law and states that it should be under judicial supervision.
The phenomenon of holding back the passport began with the inflow of unskilled labors from South and East Asia, at the outset of the 70s. The justification given at the time was that this was necessary for the protection of the employer from the fleeing of some workers back to their countries, in such cases as when they have violated the law and/or committed a crime, which the sponsor would then have to deal with. But this phenomenon increased and became a means of pressuring, blackmailing and punishing many migrant workers by their employers. Many of these victims are migrant women working as domestic helpers.
“I the undersigned ……….., confirm, settling all my rights, dues and indemnity between me and the company I worked for which is ……………, I confirm that mentioned amount ……. includes all my rights and indemnity.”
This is part of the concession document forcibly written by J Kumar, an Indian national, after more than 1 year of negotiations to get his travel documents. In this document, Kumar concedes his rights and dues, earned over 20 years of work, in order to receive his passport to travel back home in time to be with his ailing mother in her last days. Unfortunately, after all the concessions, he did not reach home in time to see her.
The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families implies that no migrant worker or member of his or her family shall be held in slavery or servitude or shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labor. Furthermore, the Bahraini Law in turn does not allow forcible work or abuse, however, in reality abuse has been evident, mainly in the cases of migrant women domestic helpers, and persons who are known as free visa workers.
Many of these vulnerable and week segments suffer increasingly, as their passports are confiscated and they are banned from traveling by their employer. Thus restricting their movement and preventing them from reaching the authorities in order to voice their suffering, without the risk of imprisonment or firing.
These workers have no way to reclaim their passports, considering their increased indebtment, but to work under severe conditions which in some circumstances reaches the form of forced labor and slavery, or to forcibly submit their earnings of many years. While some have to pay heavily for the reclaiming of their documents, female domestic workers are subjected to a severer price, in that they are, in some cases, subjected to sexual abuse in order to be allowed to travel back to their countries.
This phenomenon increased with the incoming of a new segment of violators: Employers who come from the same countries as these victims, and hold the same nationality. Those are migrant employers, through obtaining commercial registration from citizens, in return for money
Very often, migrant workers, mainly women, whose country has no diplomatic representation in Bahrain, are subjected to an even worse kind of violation, as there is no safe haven to resort to. Such countries are like Sri Lanka, Indonesia and some African countries.
“To the Director of Administrative and Financial Affairs in the Immigration and Passports Department – Kingdom of Bahrain:
We are a group of …….workers, working for ……. Company. We stopped working and filed a labor case on February 2004, after the employer stopped paying our salaries for four consecutive months. Since we have no other source of earning to live on, and have no desire in working as illegal workers, we request you to address our employer to provide us with our passports and flight tickets”.
Even until the time of the writing of this report, and for more than 18 months, the sponsor of the workers who have filed this complaint has refused to give them their passports and pay their salaries and indemnities, or return them home. In addition to their difficult financial circumstances, another factor comes into play, which has further increased their suffering. This factor is the implications that come about as a result of the fact that the local labor law does not allow migrant workers to work without their sponsor or employers permission, thus they remain without any source of income.
What increases the BCHR’s concern is the stance of the paralyzed official institutions of law- enforcement, which are contented in merely watching these violations of the rights of these migrants’ workers, in movement, work and keeping their passports. In consideration with the situation brought about by the implications that arise from the local law in that it does not allow Migrant Workers to work and earn a living without their sponsors, these official institutions fail to provide a shelter during that period, where worker have no source of income to live on, in fact, these institutions avoid taking any measures against the employers, who prevent their workers from traveling and hold their travel documents.
Trade unions and women societies have regretfully not embarked on any serious discussions on the issue of Migrant Worker violations, nor attempting to find any solutions for those workers, who are mainly women. Article no 26 of The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families stipulates that the state should recognize the right of Migrant Workers to take part in meetings and activities of trade unions and of any other associations, with a view to protecting their economic, social, cultural and other interests, and to join them freely, and to seek their aid and assistance.
“We face great problems with law- enforcement institutions, such as the Ministry of Labor , the Immigration and Passports Department, in implementing many laws in relation to migrant workers. Some times, the ministry of labor is reluctant to curry out decisions taken by the ministry itself. Although the principle that travel documents belong only to the holder and his/her embassy is in existence, it is regretfully not working or implemented here”
Zeyad Qayyomji,
A lawyer engaged in migrant workers cases
Usually, the ministry of labor would refer labor cases which cannot be solved at the ministry, including the holding of passports, to courts, which involve an immensely prolonged process, perhaps years of waiting. Thus the migrant worker is prohibited from working to earn a living during that period.
This extreme pressure and inhumane treatment resulted in a feeling of hopelessness among this weak segment. Some have, and are continuing in a trend of taking their own lives, or committing suicide. This is highly noted in the suicidal cases which were transferred to the public psychiatric hospitals in 2003, of which migrant women domestic workers were 40% of the total number. Previously twenty two Asian construction workers attempted to commit suicide in 2003, and in the first three months of 2004, 11 Asian workers have committed suicide.
Rights Violations have also resulted in the running away of many migrant workers and their engagement in working illegally, or outside the framework of the law in order to earn a living. Usually they are arrested as “free visa” workers or “runaway(s)” and detained in prison with criminals, to be deported later on.
Article 20 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families stipulates that: No migrant worker or member of his or her family shall be imprisoned merely on the ground of failure to fulfill a contractual obligation. And No one shall be deprived of his or her authorization of residence or work permit or expelled merely on the ground of failure to fulfill an obligation arising out of a work contract unless fulfillments of that obligation constitutes a condition for such authorization or permit
Recommendations:
1. To the Bahraini authorities:
- A. To ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, which include their right to live, to have fair judicial measures, receive fair trials, and their right to freedom of expression through legislation, and the reformation of existing legislation in order for them to be consistent with international standards.
- B. To implement the 2005 recommendations of the UN Committee against Torture and the UN committee on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination, specially the parts which refer to the Migrant Workers.
- C. Sponsors, recruitment agents and companies should be prohibited from holding passports against the wish of the holders, and to emphasize on the punishment of whoever violates the latter. The Ministry of Labor, the Directorate of Immigration and Passports, and Police Stations should take measures to stop violations and not wait until the cases are transferred to the court.
- D. Ceasing the bringing in of migrant workers from countries without embassies or labor offices in Bahrain, this includes Sri Lanka, Indonesia and some African countries. And this will hold until these countries open offices to serve their citizens.
- E. Provide shelter to victims of violence and abuse, mainly women who have no other place to resort to or source of income to live on.
- F. Laws and regulations that protect the sponsor should be established, so sponsors do not need to hold the passport, providing that these laws and regulations do not restrict the freedoms of the migrant workers to move and their right to keep their travel documents.
2. To the embassies exporting countries:
- A. They should take up their responsibility to protect their citizens and provide legal assistance.
- B. Prior to their traveling to their destination country, Migrant Workers, specially women, should be informed about working conditions and their rights and duties according to the domestic law, and international standards.
- C. To provide shelter for their citizens, who suffer from circumstances beyond their will and to facilitate their return back.
- D. To hold accountable their fellow citizens who work with rented commercial registration or with local recruiting agents or as sponsor who are found to violate the rights of these workers.
3. To civil society institutions in the sending and receiving countries:
- A. The rights of migrant workers are part of human rights and rights of national workers which can not be separated. Hence, local trade unions, as well as rights and women societies and organizations, should take the responsibility to equally defend these workers.
- B. Governmental and Non-governmental Organization specializing in Human Rights, Labor Rights and Migrant Worker Rights, should be responsible for defending the rights of these individuals.
For more information please contact
Nabeel Rajab
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
Tel 00 973 39633399
Fax 00 973 17795170