Bahrain : Labour and Social and Development Minister, Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, today opened the “Social Dialogue in Times of Crises” conference, organised by the General Federation of Workers Trade Unions in Bahrain (GFWTUB), in cooperation with the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Representatives of business owners, workers’ trade unions, economic functions and ILO attended the opening of the two-day conference.
The conference discusses a number of topics pertaining to the reality of the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030 in light of the challenges arising from the Coronavirus pandemic and its economic and social repercussions.
It focuses on two main themes, with the first dealing with the labour market and the economic and social repercussions, as well as the tripartite councils and their role in social protection. The second tackles social dialogue and its institutions, which covers the financial situation and its economic and social impacts, in addition to the social dimension and future prospects.
Addressing the conference, the minister asserted that the kingdom always seeks to consolidate social dialogue, especially at the labour level, noting that Bahrain boasts a pioneering experience in the field of tripartite dialogue with the existence of workers’ trade unions that operate freely and independently.
He pointed out that despite the impacts of the pandemic, the government, workers and employers have proved their keenness to carry on tripartite coordination.
He also reviewed the efforts exerted by the government to confront the challenges resulting from COVID-19, placing the kingdom among leading countries in precautionary health, social and economic measures, which led to the stability of the labour market and reducing layoffs.
He highlighted the economic recovery plan endorsed by the Cabinet recently. The scheme includes creating promising job opportunities, making Bahraini citizens the first choice in the labour market, and employing 20,000 Bahraini nationals, in addition to providing training for 10,000 Bahrainis annually until the year 2024.
He also asserted that the second edition of the National Employment Programme has yielded positive results with the employment of 25,000 citizens and training 10,000 others.
GFWTUB Secretary-General, Abdulqader Al-Shehabi, Second Deputy Chairman of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Mohammed Abduljabbar Al-Kooheji, and ILO Regional Director for Arab States, Ruba Jaradat, also spoke during the opening session of the conference. They stressed the importance of promoting social dialogue in times of crises, in order to distance the labour market from the negative effects in such emergency conditions. They praised the measures taken by the Kingdom to address the pandemic at the health, labour and economic levels, which led to the stability of the labour market during this exceptional period the world is going through.
