MANAMA: Bahrain will officially ban the transport of workers in open trucks beginning this week. Violators will be subject to up to six months in prison and a fine equivalent to nearly SR1,000.
The General Directorate of Traffic plans to launch a nationwide awareness campaign to inform laborers that they should contact the police if forced to travel in open vehicles. Authorities would then take action against errant employers that may include cancellation of their commercial registrations.
The media campaign will be the first of its kind in Bahrain during which leaflets in Arabic, English and Urdu would be distributed in labor camps. The campaign will also include public service announcements on radio and television.
Interior Minister Lt. Gen. Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa has said the move is aimed at ensuring the safety and welfare of workers in compliance with international treaties and agreements.
But despite efforts that began in January to stop unsafe transport of laborers, which included limiting the number of passengers and imposing speed limits, the government found that workers were still dying in collisions attributed to unsafe transportation arrangements. The Labor Ministry reported that there were 33 work-related accidents that led to eight deaths in the first quarter of this year in this tiny island country.
There has been strong resentment from the business community here regarding the transportation of workers as they say replacing the existing vehicles would be a financial burden costing about one billion Bahraini dinars.
