On a BWI mission to Bahrain in May 2010, Crecentia Mofokeng, Regional Representative of BWI Africa officially welcomed the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) to BWI. The GFBTU application for BWI membership was on behalf of their 11 construction enterprise unions approved by the World Board at the 2nd BWI World Congress in Lille, France held last December. The GFBTU reaffirmed their support for the establishment of a national construction federation to promote decent work, safe working conditions, and better wages for the nearly 136,000 workers in the construction sector in Bahrain.

Upon presenting the GFBTU leadership with the official BWI statutes, constitution, and flag, Mofokeng stated, “We are extremely happy to welcome you in to the BWI family and we look forward to working closely together to improve the lives of all construction workers in Bahrain. In addition, we look forward to working with our newly affiliated union, GFBTU in conducting a series of activities that will contribute to the establishment of a construction federation by the end of this year. Specifically, we will be conducting an organizers training with a special focus on occupational safety and health, as there are an increasing number of accidents on the construction sites.”

Last year, the eleven construction enterprise unions affiliated with the GFBTU established a preparatory committee to undertake the necessary measures for the new construction federation. The committee leaders reported to the BWI mission, which was headed by Crecentia Mofokeng, Regional Representative of BWI Africa, that the committee has drafted union constitution, by-laws, and structure. The committee will now hold elections for the officers of the new federation as well as continue to consolidate data and information in relation to the wages and benefits, work hours, working conditions, and collective bargaining agreement provisions of the eleven construction unions.

The BWI mission also met with migrant workers who are members of the Haji Hassan Construction Union. Through Rajeev Sharma, migrant workers from southern India expressed their support for a one national construction union in Bahrain to better address and advocate for the needs of all workers including migrant workers who comprise at least 90% of the entire construction work force in Bahrain. The GFBTU continue to consistently organize migrant workers and promote their rights despite some recent reservations by Bahrain nationals as a result of the recent economic crisis.

The mission included Rajeev Sharma, Regional Coordinator of BWI South Asia office and Jeroen Beirnaert, Project Coordinator for the ITUC Equality Department, S. Salamn Jaffar Al Mahfoodh, General Secretary of GFBTU.