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BCHR Criticizes Preventing Workers from Staging Protest, Changing of Tourist Visas into Work Visas

2023-05-02 - 7:24 p

Bahrain Mirror: The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) said that "Labor Day in Bahrain comes in the light of harsher labor conditions than in the past due to deteriorating economic conditions and ignoring of the outstanding labor problems."

The center pointed out, in a statement marking the International Workers' Day, to "the increase in unemployment rates and the decrease in the wages level, as well as the authority's deprivation of workers since 2011 until today from demonstrating on Labor Day, although the GFBTU submitted an official application to license the demonstration, but its efforts failed.

He criticized the conversion of 85,000 tourist visitor visas into regular employment, warning that it "distorts the labor market and provokes the feelings of thousands of unemployed and job-seekers."

The center said: "Despite the successive statements issued by the Minister of Labor about his ministry's attempts to restore unemployment to its normal level, followers of local Bahraini affairs notes the increasing number of unemployed and a steady increase in disguised employment," noting that "This is a violation of Article 1 of the 1964 Labour Policy Convention issued by the General Conference of the International Labour Organization, as well as Article 13 of the Constitution of Bahrain."

The center called on the government to "work for sustainable development to improve the lives of citizens, create a strong and cohesive economy, adopt efficiency in employment and fight discrimination, and increase the salaries of employees in the public and private sectors, the last of which was 21 years ago."

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