Top BHRWS officials call for urgent action to help labourers overcome the difficulties of the pandemic

TDT | Manama

Top rights officials have called for urgent action to help foreign workers here tide over their difficulties caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. There is an urgent need “to ease their hardship and provide compassionate assistance to all affected low income,” workers here, warned Lyn Le. Altarejos, Director for Foreign Workers committee of Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society(BHRWS).

Lockdown related issues are triggering extreme mental health issues in foreign workers who are also stressed over concerns about the situations of their families back home. Concerns over work conditions, visa status and earning their daily bread are gnawing into their mental health. “We all are affected, but the low-income workers, who are employed at micro and small scale businesses, are severely affected,” the BHRWS official said.

They need “compassionate’ assistance to tide over the period of unemployment. These workers, Altarejos said, are pivotal to the growth of the companies and the backbone of our economic prosperity and shouldn’t be ignored. Backing the views of Altarejos, Faisal Fulad, Secretary-General of Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society(BHRWS), said most of the workers here are in dire need of financial assistance. “We need a fund for this purpose with the help of the governmental agencies, embassies and the companies they work for.” He further reminded that it is the time for us to hold ‘each other’s shoulder’, and that without the help of foreign workers it will be difficult for companies here to operate normally.  “Who will run your businesses smooth and sound if there are no Foreign workers to help,” he asked. 

Fulad called on all to give a hand in this crisis to build hope and go back to our normal lives with ease.  As of the second quarter of 2019, according to LMRA, there are over  748,047 workers in the Kingdom. Foreign workers employment reached 594,944 workers by the end of the second quarter of 2019. The share of small organisations, employing less than 10 workers, of employment work permits was 50.5pc of total work permits issued during the second quarter of 2019.