The workers affiliated with the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions called on lawmakers to review provisions of the amended law, including those stipulating limit to the maternity leave and breastfeeding hours for working mothers.
“The government needs to look closely at the amended labour law. Some provisions are unfair to female workers,” said Suad Mubarak, head of the federation’s women’s committee.
The panel took part in the annual tripartite Labour Day ceremony to honour workers held yesterday under the patronage of His Majesty the King, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
They said they took part in the celebration to pay tribute to workers but the female workers must be treated on par with male workers.
“All forms of discrimination against female work
ers must be removed. Wages must not only be raised but be equal for both male and female workers. This is what we have been asking for so many years,” Mubarak said.
Unions are struggling to increase the membership of female workers.
Mubarak said female workers constituted not more than 20 per cent of the membership of all the unions.
The committee launched a campaign for female workers in all sectors to encourage them to sign up as members.
It also called on the government to address the plight of unemployed women, including the hundreds who lost jobs because of the crisis in the garment sector.
More than 1,000 Bahraini women were rendered jobless with the closure of over a dozen garment factories in the past two years. And only less than half of them have been provided with new jobs, the panel said.
