Embassy of Bangladesh Hosts Review of New Labor Laws

Gulf Daily News » Local News » Expat labour issues are reviewed

Interesting article this week from the Gulf Daily News that shows how the Bangladeshi Embassy is trying to educate its citizens on the new labor laws that have been implemented in Bahrain in recent months. Several accounts from migrant laborers present in this article elaborate further on the common forms of mistreatment and coercive recruitment that Bangladeshis face, providing better insight to the reader on how to better foresee risks for human trafficking at its source. In an effort to pass on updated information on Bahrain's promulgating labor law and procedures and guidelines of the Labor Market Regulatory Authority, the Embassy of Bangladesh hosted one of a series of planned open houses for its citizens in Bahrain's capital.

Common complaints from these laborers were the following:
-Withheld salaries as a way to prevent the worker from changing employers or simply because the employer chooses not to pay;
-Cancelled visas that often leave the workers stranded and in debt; and
-Inaccurate job placement information from recruitment agencies in Bangladesh.

The population of Bangladeshi workers living in Bahrain has diminished considerably nearly two years after Bahraini demands to terminate the issue of work visas to Bangladeshis, following two murders of Bahraini citizens at the hands of Bangladeshi migrant workers.