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INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 000292 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOL FOR ILAB/JAMES RUDE 
USTR FOR JBUNTIN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/28/2017 
TAGS: ELAB PHUM PGOV BA HUMRIT
SUBJECT: GOB TIGHTENING CLAMP ON PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS 
 
 
Classified By: CDA Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (SBU) The GOB Civil Service Bureau (CSB) announced that 
it is not prepared to tolerate the establishment of unions 
formed in government ministries and other government 
entities.  It calls these unions illegal and has instructed 
government bodies to prevent them from forming.  At the 
center of the debate is an article of the Trade Union Law of 
2002, which appears to specify that civil servants are 
permitted to participate in unions, but not establish unions 
within government organizations.  Two leaders of groups have 
reportedly been questioned at length about their union 
involvement by officials from the CSB.  A panel of 
representatives from five public sector unions announced that 
as of March 15, over 10,000 civil servants had signed a 
petition calling for a 25% pay increase.  There is an 
indication that the CSB, under instruction from the Prime 
Minister, is taking action on a salary increase for some 
government employees, but it is unclear how soon the move 
would become effective.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The CSB circulated a memorandum March 19 to all 
ministries and other government entities ordering action to 
stop union activity by groups in the public sector.  (Note: 
This does not apply to state-owned companies like Gulf Air 
and Alba, where unions are permitted to operate.)  The 
memorandum from CSB president Ahmed Bahr labeled the 
organizations illegal and directed government ministries and 
commissions to prevent them from forming.  Government sources 
point out that the Trade Union Law of 2002 does not permit 
public sector workers to establish unions in government 
ministries/organizations, even though it permits them to join 
them.  Further, a CSB memorandum circulated in early 2003 
clarified the language in the law, clearly prohibiting 
government employees from forming unions. 
 
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Hardball Tactics 
---------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Public sector union sources told the press March 21 
that the CSB and the Cabinet's Legal Affairs Directorate had 
formed a joint committee to monitor government unions and 
their leadership.  The sources claimed that the committee had 
opened an investigation of the head of the joint Postal 
Service and Civil Aviation Authority union Jamal Ateeq, who 
is also assistant secretary general for public sector unions 
at the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU). 
The committee reportedly informed Ateeq that it could file a 
legal case against him for violating Civil Service 
regulations.  The head of the union in the Ministry of 
Electricity and Water (MEW) announced March 24 that an 
attorney from the CSB and an official from the MEW legal 
affairs department had interrogated him for four hours.  Both 
the Cabinet Legal Affairs Directorate and the CSB have 
publicly denied the existence of an investigatory committee. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Seven public sector union groups have been formed, 
but only five have rallied in support of a recent call for a 
salary increase:  unions at the Ministry of Electricity and 
Water, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Housing, Ministry of 
Interior, and the joint union of employees from the Postal 
Service and the Civil Aviation Authority.  Article ten of the 
Trade Union Law of 2002, which legitimizes unions, says, 
"Workers have the right to organize trade unions in any 
establishment or sector, or in any specific activity, or 
industry, or in professions that are interconnected based on 
this law, and the employees of the Civil Service system have 
the right to join."  The GOB has consistently argued that 
although civil servants are given the right to join unions, 
the law does not give them the right to establish their own 
unions within government entities. 
 
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Signing for Support 
------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The public sector unions began calling for a raise 
in the government sector minimum wage after a February 4 
meeting at the Federation.  They demanded a raise from the 
current BD 200 to at least BD 300 to keep pace with rising 
consumer prices.  Several days later, the five unions 
 
MANAMA 00000292  002 OF 003 
 
 
announced that they had formed a panel, consisting of 
representatives from each of the unions, to develop an action 
plan.  The panel announced shortly thereafter that it had 
drawn up a petition asking for a 25% pay increase and that it 
had already attracted 500 government employees to sign the 
petition.  As of March 15, public sector union leaders 
claimed that the petition had drawn the support of more than 
10,000 government workers from approximately 38,000 total in 
Bahrain. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Teachers, Human Rights Activists Join the Discussion 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Mahdi Abudeeb, president of the Teachers Society, a 
professional organization and not a union, announced March 6 
that 3,000 primary and secondary public school teachers had 
signed a petition calling for a 20% rise in their salaries. 
Teachers are also reportedly dissatisfied with the 
recruitment process and school administration, and are urging 
the Ministry of Education to reform.  Abudeeb, who ran for 
parliament in the 2006 elections but was defeated, said that 
teachers have not received any pay increases since 1997.  The 
Teachers Society will reportedly send the petition to the 
Prime Minister, the Crown Prince, the Council of 
Representatives, and to the Shura Council.  According to 
Ministry of Education statistics from academic year 
2005-2006, there were approximately 10,800 public school 
teachers. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) released a 
press statement March 29 urging the CSB and other government 
entities to recognize government workers' right to organize. 
The statement characterized the CSB's interpretation of 
Article ten of the Trade Union Law as "strange and the first 
of its kind," saying that it is not in line with 
international labor standards.  BHRS stressed that the 
unions' activities to press for a salary increase are 
legitimate under the constitution, and measures taken against 
these activities are a violation of a fundamental human 
right.  BHRS called on the government to stop harassing union 
leaders by questioning them and threatening them with further 
action, and announced its support to the GFBTU in its 
complaint to the International Labor Organization's Trade 
Union Freedom Committee. 
 
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Message Heard? 
-------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) CSB president Bahr announced March 15 that the CSB 
was already taking the necessary steps to give civil servants 
on the specialist scale (including managers and mid-level 
technocrats) a 15% raise in their salaries.  In addition, 
Bahr said that the Prime Minister had asked the CSB to look 
at providing an increase to those on the general salary 
schedule (clerks, drivers, etc.) as well, reaching as many as 
18,000 public sector workers.  He added that a new schedule 
would be introduced to increase the payout for employee 
overtime.  Assistant Undersecretary of Finance Arif Saleh 
stated in the press that salary increases are not included in 
the 2007/2008 budget, but other financial sources could be 
used to cover the increases. 
 
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Comment 
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¶9.  (C) The last several weeks have seen an escalation in the 
rhetoric between the government, leaders of the public sector 
unions, and the GFBTU.  The reported questioning of the union 
leadership represents a show of force from the government, 
but the GOB has denied that these activities are taking 
place.  If the government follows through on steps to raise 
government worker salaries, this will give the public sector 
workers, and the GFBTU behind them, a boost in confidence 
that their recent tactics have been effective.   However, 
even if the GOB bends on salaries, it is unlikely to change 
its policy in the near term on recognizing the right for 
public sector workers to form their own unions within 
ministries. 
 
 
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Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ 
 
MANAMA 00000292  003 OF 003 
 
 
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ZIADEH