By GEOFFREY BEW

MPs have been accused of trying to bring back slavery, after agreeing that runaway housemaids should be fined BD500 if they are caught.

They voted in favour of the proposal during parliament’s session last Tuesday, despite objections from Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi.

The minister warned MPs that it violated international human rights conventions signed and implemented by Bahrain.

However, they agreed to amend the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) law – including the fine and deportation for runaway housemaids – regardless.

Human rights activists have objected to the idea, which must first be approved by the Shura Council before it can be forwarded to His Majesty King Hamad for ratification.

Migrant Workers Protection Society (MWPS) action committee head Marietta Dias accused MPs of drafting laws without studying the implications.

“We think the term runaway should be abolished,” she said. “These are human beings and these are not the days ofslavery.”

“We really want these MPs to familiarise themselves with the reasons why people run away.”
“Most of the time it is because of some abuse or non-payment and irregular payment of salaries. People do not run

away at the drop of a hat. These cases need to be properly investigated before any punishment is meted out to them.”

Ms Dias also objected to comments by parliament chairman Khalifa Al Dhahrani, who claimed many sponsors were unfairly forced to pay for the tickets of runaway expatriate workers years after they disappeared.

“These are poor people who have not got the resources mentally or physically to go to the authorities and complain,” she said.

“When they gather the courage to go, this is what they put up with.”

“Even if they are beaten black and blue, the only thing relevant to the authorities is the ‘runaway’ case.”

Ms Dias also questioned whether the new law would mean officially registered societies, like the MWPS, would be breaking the law during the course of its voluntary work.

“We want to know as a registered non-government organisation, are we allowed to shelter these people?” she asked.

“This would prevent people from wanting to come and offer their services as volunteers.”

Ms Dias added the amendments contradicted the government’s policy of encouraging expatriates to report complaints against their employers to the police and the Labour Ministry.

“MPs have got to give it more thought and research before they start drafting laws on these things,” she said.

Ms Dias added that Bahrain’s existing laws already made it too easy for sponsors to brand their employees as ‘runaways’.

“We have a case of a man whose boss has accused him of being a runaway, but he has got attendance cards showing him at work and he was only off work for one day when he was sick,” she said.

Her comments were backed by Bahrain Businesswomen Society head and MWPS president Mona Almoayyed, who said the proposed law would be a huge step backwards.

“The best way to deal with this situation is to investigate the reason why the housemaid ran away and if it is a matter of abuse by their sponsor they should be punished as well,” she said.

“The law now doesn’t really punish sponsors who abuse their employees.”

“We have got a lot of complaints from workers who have not been paid for months and the law is not doing anything to punish their sponsors.”

Dr Al Alawi earlier revealed that the LMRA was now taking electronic fingerprints of labourers as soon as they arrive at Bahrain International Airport.

He said 35,000 runaway workers had been deported before the introduction of the system and 15,000 cases were still being investigated.