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HRW – Bahrain, Revoke Summary Firings Linked to Protests

by Courtesy

Bahrain: Revoke Summary Firings Linked to Protests
US to Investigate Compliance With Free Trade Agreement
July 14, 2011

(Manama) – The Bahrain government should investigate and remedy the summary dismissals of more than 2,000 workers since late March, apparently as punishment for having participated in or otherwise supported pro-democracy demonstrations, Human Rights Watch said today.

The dismissals may have violated Bahraini labor laws as well as international standards, in particular those prohibiting discrimination on the basis of political opinion, and should be rescinded, and those affected should be compensated if investigations show that this is the case, Human Rights Watch said.

“It appears that hundreds of workers have been dismissed arbitrarily, ostensibly because they missed some days of work,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “It seems more likely that it was because they supported peaceful protests or heeded the union federation’s strike call.”

As of July 12, 2011, a total of 2,186 workers, many in key firms in which the state has a financial stake, had been fired since late March, according to the independent General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU). In most cases the stated reasons seem to have been absence from work during street protests and the initial days of martial law.

The government narrative that the pro-democracy protests constituted an Iranian-inspired plot to overthrow the ruling family also casts the leadership of the union federation as playing a major role. Those fired by companies include 41 local union leaders and seven out of 15 members of the federation’s executive board.

Human Rights Watch interviewed 18 workers fired from six companies. All said they were given no advance warning and that the companies did not conduct independent investigations to determine that they had violated company or government regulations before they were dismissed. Human Rights Watch also contacted management in these six firms. In the course of this research, the government informed Human Rights Watch’s researcher that it would not extend his visa and that he had to leave the country within 24 hours. …more