Bahrain Labor Issues

Chan'ad Bahraini has more information on Gulf labor issues, especially in Bahrain:

"While the labour condition in the UAE is particularly exacerbated, and under glare, the same problems obviously exist in all of the Gulf countries, and certainly here at home in Bahrain. The local press this week reported two cases of workers asking for unpaid wages: 24 employees of Hamelco Contracting, and 40 employees of Al Khaja establishment — in both cases the workers allege that they have not been paid in nine months.

"Even though the employers may be to blame, the real culprit is the government’s kafala sponsorship system which prevents migrant workers from getting justice. If a migrant worker wants to take his or her employer to court for any reason, he or she will have not be able to earn a living for the duration of the trial (which will surely be long and drawn out lasting several months if not years). Obviously then, most workers don’t risk taking their problems to the courts. And the only other options that remain are to: (i) continue working in the state of bonded labour, (ii) resort to crime or illegal activities, or tragically too often (iii) commit suicide.

There's more at the link.