World’s unions intervene over Bahrain repression

World’s unions intervene over Bahrain repression
Press Release: International Transport Workers’ Federation – 17 October 2011 – scoop world

World’s unions intervene over Bahrain repression

The world’s biggest trade union organisations today appealed directly to Bahrain’s royal family to act to reverse the prosecutions and mass sackings of those who joined pro-democracy actions in the country.

All 13 global union federations – the BWI, EI, ICEM, IFJ, IMF, ITF, ITGLWF, IUF, PSI, TUAC, UNI, IAEA along with the ITUC* – wrote to Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa to recommend urgent action to repeal the unjust imprisonment and victimisation that has seen medics, teachers and trade unionists jailed and sacked.
The organisations told him:

‘The undersigned members of Global Unions, the coalition of international trade union organisations – which together represent about 200 million workers around the world – are deeply concerned about the current human and trade union rights situation in Bahrain.

Today, over 2,600 workers in both the public and private sectors have been dismissed, and hundreds more have been suspended from public sector jobs. The government has failed to reinstate the vast majority of these workers and has presented no evidence to support recent claims that it has. Some of those few that have been reinstated have had to agree to unacceptable, indeed illegal, conditions to get their jobs back, including agreeing not to join the union. The dismissals have not yet stopped. Government workers, especially those in health, education and municipal sectors, continue to be suspended or fired for their actual or suspected participation in trade union and political activity earlier this year. Numerous trade union leaders are also now facing criminal prosecution.

Below are some of the most troubling cases:

At Gulf Air, the government is pursuing criminal charges against union leaders with the clear intent of undermining the union. Some 217 employees of the airline were also arbitrarily sacked. Although many have now been returned to work, we understand that they have not been reinstated in their original jobs, and union leaders have been excluded. These actions appear to be linked to previous attempts by the authorities to restructure the company, without having given any consideration to the views of the workers and of their organisations.

At DHL, the government has started proceedings against several leaders and members of the DHL Trade Union, who have been given notice to attend a court hearing on 26th October. They stand accused of violating national security.
Leaders of the Bahraini Teachers Association, namely Mahdi ’Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb and Jalila al-Salman, the president and female vice-president, were sentenced to ten and three years’ imprisonment respectively by the Bahrain’s First Instance Court of National Security, a military tribunal. The Bahrain Teachers’ Association was dissolved in April by the Ministry of Social Development.

At least 68 journalists working for two leading Bahraini newspapers, Al Wasat and Al Bilad, were singled out for sacking, arrests and charges of treason. Others were forced into exile in the ongoing systematic harassment of independent media. In the meanwhile, senior journalist Mansour Al Jamry, editor-in-chief of Al Wasat newspaper, is on trial along with three other senior staff charged with publishing false information about the police crackdown, a charge which carries a one-year prison sentence. …source