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Viewing cable 10MANAMA55, FTA LABOR MONITORING - BAHRAIN

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
10MANAMA55 2010-02-01 12:40 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Manama
VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMK #0055/01 0321240
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 011240Z FEB 10 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9180
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
UNCLAS MANAMA 000055 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, DRL/ILCSR, G/TIP 
STATE PASS USTR/CROMERO 
DOL FOR TWEDDING, JRUDE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB ECON ETRD PHUM KTIP PGOV KCRM BA
SUBJECT: FTA LABOR MONITORING - BAHRAIN 
 
REF: A. STATE 19631 
     B. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BAHRAIN LABOR RIGHTS 
        REPORT 2005 
     C. 09 MANAMA 596 
 
1. (U) This cable provides responses requested in Ref A 
(Labor Monitoring and Engagement with Free Trade Agreement 
Countries). 
 
BACKGROUND 
= = = = = 
 
2. (SBU) WORKFORCE: Bahrain's workforce comprises 
approximately 675,000 adults, of which approximately 537,000 
are foreign workers -- of these, approximately 75,000 work as 
domestic household employees (such as cleaners, nannies, 
gardeners and drivers).  In addition, there may be as many as 
50,000 illegal foreign workers in the country.  Bahrain's 
total population is approximately 1,050,000, according to the 
GOB's Central Informatics Organization.  As with most GCC 
countries, foreign workers account for the great majority of 
the overall workforce, i.e., 80 percent of the registered 
workforce.  (Note: Information provided by the Labor Market 
Regulatory Authority, LMRA.  End note.) 
 
3. (SBU) LAWS: Private sector workers are, for the most part, 
covered by, and subject to, Bahrain's labor laws, namely the 
labor rights articulated in the 2002 Constitution, the 1976 
Labor Law for the Private Sector, as amended, and the 2002 
Workers Trade Union Law.  Maritime employees are also subject 
to the Maritime Code, while non-military government employees 
are subject to the Civil Service Law (ref B).  Bahrain's 
75,000 domestic household employees are not covered by the 
existing labor laws, contributing to the widespread 
mistreatment and abuse, including trafficking in persons, 
reported in this sector.  Parliament's Shura Council (upper 
house) is currently considering a new labor law, which, 
according to the Ministry of Labor (MOL), would provide a 
legal and regulatory framework for domestic household 
employees.  This draft is also intended to bring Bahraini 
labor regulations in line with ILO guidelines, including 
clarifying restrictions on the right to strike in certain 
sectors and establishing an inter-ministerial workplace 
heath, safety, and environment committee.  It is not clear if 
this draft legislation will be approved prior to 
parliamentary elections slated for fall 2010. 
 
4. (SBU) ILO CONVENTIONS: The GOB has ratified four of the 
eight fundamental ILO conventions.  Among the four it has not 
ratified are Convention 87 (Freedom of Association and 
Protection of the Right to Organize) and Convention 98 
(Application of the Principles of the Right to Organize and 
to Bargain Collectively). 
 
5. (SBU) TRADE UNIONS: In terms of labor rights, Bahraini 
workers in the private sector are permitted to form and/or 
join a union specific to the enterprise/company they work 
for, and/or one of seven general profession-specific unions 
(including cabin crew employees, bankers, insurance sector 
employees, maritime workers, hospitality industry employees 
and nursery/daycare teachers).  Employers must give their 
consent before a union may be established within the firm in 
question; under the law, employers must grant such approval. 
There are 67 registered unions in Bahrain, including the 
seven aforementioned general unions.  Foreign workers in the 
private sector may join unions, though a Bahraini citizen 
must chair any union. 
 
6. (SBU) Public sector employees may join one of the seven 
general unions, but they may not establish their own unions, 
which labor activists cite as a major shortcoming. 
State-owned entities such as Gulf Air, Aluminum Bahrain 
(Alba) and Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) are considered 
private sector entities under the relevant labor laws; these 
and other large state-controlled firms have large, often 
vociferous unions.  All unions must join the General 
Federation of Workers Trade Unions of Bahrain (GFWTUB), the 
board of which is dominated by members of the mainstream Shia 
opposition party, Al Wifaq.  Trade union activities, and 
associated workers' rights, are primarily covered by the 
Workers Trade Union Law (Law 33) of 2002, and "freedom to 
form associations and unions" is provided for in Article 27 
of Bahrain's Constitution. 
7. (SBU) RIGHT TO STRIKE: The law recognizes the right to 
strike, though that right is restricted in certain sectors 
deemed sensitive by the GOB, such as "security, civil 
defense, airports, ports, hospitals, transportation, 
telecommunications, electricity and water" (Law 33). 
According to the MOL, there were six strikes in 2009, five of 
which were resolved amicably with the mediation of MOL, 
GFWTUB and Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) 
officials.  The Solidarity Center's regional coordinator 
noted that the GOB has not used heavy-handed tactics against 
strikers or strike leaders since the promulgation of Law 33 
and that the right to strike is well engrained within the 
private sector. 
 
MIGRANT WORKERS 
= = = = = = = = 
 
8. (SBU) FOREIGN WORKERS (FORMAL SECTOR): While foreign 
workers in private sector firms are permitted to join trade 
unions, most refrain from doing so, for fear of employer 
reprisal, namely termination of sponsorship (i.e., the basis 
for legal residence in Bahrain).  The Alba and Bapco unions 
have relatively large numbers of foreign workers, but they do 
not hold leadership positions. 
 
9. (SBU) While Bahrain's Minister of Labor has pledged to end 
the sponsorship (kafala) system, foreign workers remain tied 
to a sponsor (ref C).  Reforms implemented in 2009 resulted 
in (a) the LMRA becoming the lead agency for granting work 
permits to migrant workers, and (b) foreign workers gaining 
the right to switch employers without the employer's consent, 
subject to certain restrictions, a move that was welcomed by 
NGOs.  Many foreign workers continue to experience fraud and 
abuse: tens of thousands of workers hold "free visas," an 
illegal system by which such workers pay hundreds or 
thousands of dollars annually to their official sponsor to 
work other jobs.  Many workers also undergo contract 
substitution upon arrival in Bahrain, i.e., being compelled 
to sign a new contract with lower wages than previously 
agreed.  (Note: The GFWTUB estimates that up to half of all 
migrant workers in Bahrain undergo contract substitution. 
End note.)  Low-paid manual laborers in construction and 
related sectors often suffer from abuses common to domestic 
household employees )- see below. 
 
10. (SBU) FOREIGN WORKERS (INFORMAL SECTOR): Domestic 
household employees, such as cleaners, nannies, cooks, 
butlers, drivers and gardeners, are not covered by Bahrain's 
existing labor laws.  In many cases, they are subject to 
mistreatment and abuse, including trafficking in persons as 
defined by the UN Palermo Protocols and the United States' 
2000 Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended.  The 
abuses are well documented by reputable, international NGOs, 
by the Migrant Workers Protection Society (MWPS) in Bahrain, 
and by Embassy officers' numerous interviews with foreign 
workers, including those residing in shelters run by source 
countries' embassies.  Common abuses include: contract 
substitution, withholding of salaries, debt bondage to 
manpower agencies, no days off, confinement to homes, lack of 
adequate medical care, and withholding of passports and other 
forms of identification.  There have been numerous reports of 
physical violence, including rape.  MWPS and diplomatic 
sources state that law enforcement and judiciary officials 
tend to side with Bahraini employers in those few cases when 
domestic employees report abuse.  The GOB passed an 
anti-human trafficking law in 2008; to date the GOB has 
completed one prosecution using this law.  Other prosecutions 
take place under older laws against bondage, larceny, 
assault, etc.  (Note: For further information on the 
situation concerning domestic employees, see post's upcoming 
submission for the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report 
(septel).  End note.) 
 
11. (SBU) CHILD LABOR: Child labor in Bahrain is infrequent, 
and tends to be in family-owned and )operated shops only. 
The Labor Law of 1976 generally prohibits the employment of 
children under the age of 16.  The GOB cites the lack of a 
child labor problem as the reason for not having a 
comprehensive policy to eliminate the worst forms of child 
labor.  (Note: For further information, see septel.  End 
note.) 
 
12. (SBU) ACTORS: The key organizations involved in labor 
issues include: the MOL, the Ministry of Commerce and 
Industry, the LMRA, the BCCI, the GFWTUB, trade unions, the 
MWPS, human rights NGOs such as the Bahrain Human Rights 
Society and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, and source 
countries' embassies.  Post's primary interlocutor at the 
Ministry of Labor is Ms. Hanan Hassan Al-Khalifa, the 
Director of Labor Relations. 
 
USG COOPERATION 
= = = = = = = = 
 
13. (SBU) CURRENT PROGRAMS: The USG DOL funds a regional ILO 
program that advises the GFWTUB and the GOB.  The Department 
of State's MEPI and G/TIP programs fund the regional 
activities of the Solidarity Center, which advises the GFWTUB 
and its affiliates and provides limited support to the MWPS. 
G/TIP also provides funding to a regional IOM program focused 
on migrant workers and anti-human trafficking initiatives. 
 
14. (SBU) Possible USG-funded interventions going forward 
might include: 
 
-- Support for initiatives that contribute to mainstreaming 
migrant workers' rights into Bahraini unions' activities. 
Such support would need to be indirect, i.e., via an 
international organization or NGO, and would need to be 
sensitive to Bahraini workers' concerns about non-Bahrainis 
assuming leadership positions in trade unions. 
 
-- Capacity building of the GFWTUB's ability to monitor the 
GOB's implementation of laws and regulations pertaining to 
workers' rights, including those relating to the Bahrain-U.S. 
FTA. 
 
-- A project to formalize existing employer-trade union 
agreements and understandings into a collective understanding 
between the GFWTUB and the BCCI, which could build on the MOU 
recently agreed to by the two entities concerning collective 
bargaining and dispute resolution. 
 
-- In light of the ILO's tentative plan to prepare an 
international convention on domestic employees' rights in 
2011-12, an awareness campaign on this issue could commence 
in 2010. 
 
-- Workers' rights awareness campaigns targeting youth and 
student groups. 
ERELI