Manama: Deporting workers who go on strike is not part of Bahrain's labour policy, the labour minister has said.
"While downing tools should be the last resort to defend personal rights, deporting expatriates because they exercised their legitimate labour rights is not part of Bahrain's policy," Majeed Al Alawi said on Sunday.
"Going on strike is a legitimate peaceful way for workers to defend their social and economic interests," the minister was quoted as saying by the Bahrain News Agency.
The statement by Al Alawi who has been in charge of the labour portfolio since 2002 denied a warning last Wednesday by the ministry's undersecretary Shaikh Abdul Rahman Bin Abdullah Al Khalifa that labourers who went on strike would be immediately deported and visas to bring replacements would be given promptly to contractors.
Living conditions
Al Khalifa issued his warning after Bahrain witnessed a spate of strikes at several construction companies by labourers demanding higher wages and better living conditions.
The General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) supported the strikers, saying that the expatriate workers had the same rights as Bahrainis to ask for better working and living conditions.
Claims that the strikers or their leaders would be deported were denied by the construction companies, although they insisted that the strikes were illegal.
Al Alawi stressed the need to settle disputes, explaining that "strikes harm public interest, cause great losses to concerned companies and do not serve Bahrain's development process."
"The expatriate workforce should comply with the clauses in their contracts ... while companies should provide favourable working conditions and decent accommodation for their foreign labour force," he said.
