Gulf | Bahrain
Bahraini body wants sponsorship to end
A rights watchdog has called for the amendment of the labour law to cover expatriate workers, saying their plight and vulnerability deserve greater care and attention.
- By Habib Toumi, Bahrain Bureau Chief
- Published: 00:55 October 21, 2008
Manama: A rights watchdog has called for the amendment of the labour law to cover expatriate workers, saying their plight and vulnerability deserve greater care and attention.
"Most of the 70,000 domestic workers in Bahrain of predominantly Sri Lankan, Indonesian, Indian, and Filipino origin are often 'invisible' and work behind closed doors. They are therefore particularly vulnerable to exploitation," the now-defunct Bahrain Centre for Human Rights said.
"They are not protected by labour laws and are subjected to involuntary servitude. Many are faced with exorbitant recruitment and migration fees. In the workplace, problems include undefined working hours, low salaries and poor living conditions and are vulnerable to psychological, physical and sexual abuse," the centre said in a statement to Gulf News.
Bahrain has been aggressively pushing for a crackdown on human trafficking. However, many employers continue to overload workers and give them no remuneration for extra work.
The International Labour Organisation, in 2005, said the average work hours for female domestic workers in Bahrain was 108 per week. In Kuwait, the average was 101 and 105 in the UAE.
But chances of complaints by domestic workers are limited because of their complete dependence on their employers under the sponsorship system, under which visas are issued to domestic workers.
"We call for the abolition of the sponsorship system and for the establishment of mechanisms to monitor the working conditions and compliance of employment contracts," the centre said.
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