‘BD700 minimum wage, zero unemployment’

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Unions called for a BD700 minimum wage and a push to bring unemployment to zero as the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions opened a two-day conference on decent work and social development.

The event is held in co-operation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the Building and Wood Workers’ International, with His Excellency Yousif bin Abdulhussain Khalaf, Minister of Legal Affairs and Acting Minister of Labour, in attendance.

In opening remarks, Secretary-General Abdulqader Al Shehabi linked the agenda to the Second World Summit for Social Development in Qatar, which aims to end poverty, provide decent work for all and advance social inclusion.

He said these aims rest on security, peace and respect for human rights and basic freedoms, and urged regular talks between employers and workers to handle rapid shifts in production and automation.

Progress

Al Shehabi said Bahrain shows formal progress yet a real setback in the labour market, pointing to higher unemployment, rising public debt and climbing living costs.

He said a joined-up plan is needed, adding that unions help keep workplaces steady and can bring in investment, while rising union membership shows stronger awareness of organised labour’s role in the economy.

The federation’s plan sets out a BD700 minimum wage and zero unemployment through local hiring (Bahrainisation) to serve employers, workers and government.

Proud

Friedrich Ebert Foundation representative Yassine Al-Hannashi said the group backs labour and rights work worldwide and is proud to work with the Bahrain federation.

He called decent work a basic human right and said it is needed for growth and fairer outcomes.

Al-Hannashi added that the conference opens a frank discussion among unions, government and civil society at a time that calls for renewed resolve to keep talking.

Development

Carlos Antonio, Assistant Secretary-General of the Building and Wood Workers’ International, said development is a wide brief that unions approach through social justice.

He pointed to rising global joblessness and said more than one billion people live below the poverty line, about 10 per cent of the world’s population.

Antonio urged joint effort towards the Sustainable Development Goals and bringing younger people into the cause, and ended by urging attention to climate justice in the Middle East, especially in construction.