One of Bahrain’s trade unions plans to launch a new initiative that would provide better rights for domestic workers—including Filipinos—in the kingdom, the Gulf Daily News reported
The General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) will lead an initiative featuring a series of campaigns that would highlight the maids’ important work, as well as tackle their rights—which they believe has become a “taboo” subject.
The president of GFBTU, according to the report by the Gulf Daily News, said that Bahrain is moving in the right direction in terms of the welfare of the domestic workers.
The project aims to guard the domestic workers from various countries, such as the Philippines, Nepal, and Bangladesh, already hired in Bahrain.
In addition, the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) of Bahrain plans to launch a database of domestic workers that would help notify them for any violation.
The domestic workers comprise 15 percent of the total expats in Bahrain, with 92, 000 maids working in the kingdom. Filipinos are at the third spot of the highest number of domestic helpers in Bahrain, with 20,316 recorded workers, following Indians at 21,567, and Ethiopians at 21,306 maids.
