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Bahrain: Conditions of Migrant Workers have Deteriorated since the Beginning of the Financial Crisis

On October 6, 2009

The Gulf Daily News carried a report today about migrant workers in Bahrain. Marietta Dias of the Migrant Workers Protection Society who was interviewed for the article said that the conditions of migrant workers in Bahrain have worsened since the economic crisis. According to Dias, "many low-income workers can be laid off at a moment's notice, are not eligible for indemnity and often are owed months of salary which they never receive". Dias also reported that many workers have not been receiving their paychecks for months, as employers blame it on the crisis. Low income workers, who make as much as 90 BD (240 USD), are having difficulty surviving without pay for long. Another problem that migrant workers face is the need to repay the traffickers who brought them to Bahrain, which sometimes can take as long as five years.