Bahrain rights activists to challenge draft labour law

When Khaleej Times contacted the officials of Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) and the now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) as well as trade unions, they all said that they were not aware of the development and assured that "if true, they would stage a fight against such action to the end to ensure that they (expatriate workers) continue to enjoy their rights now being offered to them. Bahrain's labour law has been respected all over and hence we have all the more reasons that such a thing does not take place."

Trade unions officials also said that they would study the new development and have assured that the matter will be referred to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), adding that Bahrain has signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US, and that they would also check with the concerned US authorities whether such a move is acceptable.

Additionally, a number of parliamentarians are also insisting on having a separate law to protect the rights of the expatriate workers, particularly to save the image of Bahrain in the area of the human rights development.

Speaking exclusively to Khaleej Times, Dr Sabika Al Najjar, president of BHRS, said that any decision such as this "is against human rights." She also said that she would "get hold of the draft law and comment further on how BHRS would take up the issue to ensure that the rights of expatriate workers are protected under the labour law, as they are protected now."

According to a report in a local daily, Bahrain Tribune, expatriate workers have been excluded from the purview of the labour law for private sector and that articles related to them have been removed from the labour law bill that has been in the making for the past four hours. The Ministry of Labour has forwarded the draft law bill — prepared following the demands of the Economic Development Board (EDB) — to the cabinet, which will send it to the parliament soon. It is learnt that the exclusion of expatriates was demanded by the EDB as matters related to work permits are covered by the Labour Market Reforms Bill (LMRB). They argued that the LMRB focused only on fees and had not brought under its purview labour disputes or the foreign workers' rights, while also highlighting that the bill does not deal with the country's Trade Union Law.

Meanwhile, the undersecretary for labour, Shaikh Abdulrahman Al Khalifa told the Press that the Labour Law of 1976 had become outdated as the kingdom had seen massive development in the labour sector and that it required amendments considering the current situation as well as the situation in the past three decades.