GOSI Report

The General Organization of Social Insurance has released some new data on Bahrain's guest workers:

"The study prepared by the General Organisation of Social Insurance (GOSI), the pension fund covering the private sector, said 50,330 expatriates in 2005 were getting less than 50 dinars a month, and that their number had increased by four per cent over 2004.

"About 112,000, half of the expatriates registered with GOSI, get less than 99 dinars a month, the report said.

"'This is a disgrace and such low salaries give a bad name to our human rights organisations and societies abroad. It is not at all acceptable to have people live on less than $3 a day in Bahrain, especially with the rising cost of living,' Al Durazi said.

"According to the report, 26 workers died in work-related accidents, an average of one every two weeks. The fatal accidents peaked in July and August and occurred mainly between 1pm and 2pm, when workers felt the full force of the scorching sun."