Bahrian Backtrack on Worker’s Rights Reform

The Media Line:

Bahrain Backtracks on Workers’ Rights Reform
Written by Rachelle Kliger
Published Monday, June 15, 2009
BCHR
Bahrain has decided not to revoke a system that has been criticized for violating the rights of foreign workers.

The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) said it would not be canceling the sponsorship system, which stipulates that foreign workers in the Gulf country must be sponsored by an employee in order to obtain a work visa and cannot switch jobs freely.

The decision to cancel the sponsorship system was announced last month and was praised by human right activists and labor organizations. But the BCCI is now saying the sponsorship system will remain intact. Under discussion instead are considerations that will allow workers to switch employers more freely, the BCCI said.

“There’s a lot of pressure from the business community and many of the business [people] are big officials in the government,” Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights told The Media Line.

Contrary to some reports, Rajab said the sponsorship system was never abolished but said “the government tried to market it that way.” Restrictions were alleviated to make it easier for the workers to change employers and this was indeed welcomed by human rights organizations, he said. …more