VZCZCXRO5720
RR RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHMK #0463 1951224
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131224Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7988
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0240
RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
UNCLAS MANAMA 000463
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
BAGHDAD FOR AMBASSADOR ERELI
STATE FOR DRL
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM ELAB PGOV BA
SUBJECT: GOB ENFORCES SUMMER BAN ON OUTDOOR LABOR
1. (U) Forty Ministry of Labor (MOL) inspectors fanned out across Bahrain July 1 to begin enforcing the annual ban on
outdoor work during the hottest hours of the day. Employers can be fined up to USD 795 for each laborer found working
outside between 1 and 4 p.m. During their first week, the inspectors levied 190 fines.
2.(SBU) Hassan Al Aradi (please protect), a workplace safety advocate and an officer of the Bahrain Health and Safety
Society, an NGO, told poloff that unlike many other labor regulations in Bahrain, companies take the summer work ban
seriously. Al Aradi said that the summer work ban was easier to enforce than other safety regulations since inspectors
did not require significant training. By comparison, enforcement of regulations mandating the implementation of specific
practices and the use of certain safety equipment required well-trained inspectors. (Note: The 2007 Human Rights Report
highlighted the lack of trained labor inspectors as an obstacle to improved worker safety. End note.) According to Al
Aradi, MOL achieved better than 80 percent compliance with the summer work ban in 2007, and its vigorous enforcement
efforts appear to be continuing into 2008. ********************************************* ******** Visit Embassy Manama's
Classified Website: XXXXXXXXXXXX********************************************* ******** HENZEL