Unions hit out at ban on strikes at 'vital facilities'

Manama: A ban on strikes at vital facilities was yesterday resisted by the General Federation of Workers Trade Unions in Bahrain (GFWTUB) who claimed that it was a shock to workers.

The edict, issued by Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa on Monday, bans strikes at security and civil defence facilities, airports, seaports, hospitals, health centres, pharmacies, telecommunications centres, electricity and water establishments, bakeries, educational institutions, oil and gas facilities and transport and cargo services.

The ban aims to ensure national security is not undermined and that people's daily lives are not disrupted, according to the edict.

The Workers Trade Union Law, passed by King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa in 2002, allows the government to define areas where strikes can be banned.

But GFWTUB spokesman Jaafar Khalil said while the federation understood the ban on strikes at hospitals and water and electricity facilities, it did not appreciate it at the other establishments mentioned in the edict.

"We will look carefully at the ban and will decide on the legal steps to reject it as it clashes with the workers' trade union law which allows workers to organise collectively and strike," he said in a press statement.

GFWTUB deputy secretary-general Salman Al Mahfoodh said the inclusion of airports, hospitals, educational institutions and oil and gas facilities was not in line with international conventions.

Last month, the king signed a law that banned the sacking of employees engaged in trade union activities and ordered the reinstatement of sacked workers and the payment of compensation in cases of sanctions for trade union activities.

Bahrain has lately witnessed a series of strikes at some of its major companies, particularly Aluminium Bahrain (ALBA) where the strikers and the management agreed on a 20 to 22 per cent pay rise for all workers.