GDN: 80 sacked workers seeking union help

GDN- By SANDEEP SINGH GREWAL: THE number of sacked workers registered with unionists reached nearly 1,000 yesterday, after more came forward.

A total of 80 workers registered yesterday at the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) in Adliya, for an unemployment insurance scheme.

It offers jobseekers with a university diploma or degree monthly assistance of BD150, while undergraduates get BD120.

This takes the total number of sacked workers who have registered for the scheme so far to 961.

"We are still registering sacked workers mainly from private sector. All cases will be compiled weekly and sent to the Labour Ministry," said a GFBTU spokesman.

The largest number of sacked workers listed by unionists since registration opened on April 6 was 213 from Alba, followed by 189 from Bapco, 133 from APM Terminals and 135 from Batelco.

The number of registered sacked workers from Gulf Air increased yesterday from 76 to 85, while those from Banagas rose from 25 to 33.

Other sacked staff who have registered so far include 30 from Asry, 47 from Bahrain Airport Services and others from the Education Ministry, Municipal and Urban Planning Affairs Ministry and the Health Ministry

The Labour Ministry will evaluate each case and summon companies if a dismissal is found to be unfair. "We have started working on the cases and will be soon contacting companies in cases of unfair sacking," the ministry's acting labour under-secretary Sabah Al Dossary told the GDN.

The GFBTU had called a nationwide strike on February 20, but called it off after security forces withdrew from the GCC (Pearl) Roundabout.

It then announced an indefinite strike on March 13 in solidarity with anti-government protesters, after police tried to evict demonstrators from outside the Bahrain Financial Harbour.

Protesters had prevented staff from reaching workplaces by blocking the King Faisal Highway in Manama but attacked police who tried to move them on. The union later said the strike would be called off once it was safe for workers to resume their duties.

Authorities launched a security crackdown on March 16 after evicting protesters from the GCC Roundabout, but the union continued its strike until March 22.

Recognised

Labour Minister Jameel Humaidan had said earlier that the GFBTU call for general strike was politically motivated.

He said it in a reply to a letter to Geneva-based International Labour Organisation director-general Juan Somavia.

The minister said that Bahrain recognised calls for professional strikes to press for labour demands, such as pay rises, reduction of work hours or better working conditions.

Meanwhile, a human rights activist working as a lecturer at Bahrain University was reportedly suspended by the administration.

Former secretary-general of the Bahrain Human Rights Society Dr Abdulla Al Deerazi said he received a letter from the university's human resource department. "The letter stated I was suspended for violating Article 61 of the university by-law," said the English Department lecturer.