ILO and the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry convene training on worker welfare for construction companies
Construction company members of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) have met to discuss key concepts on worker welfare and explore how these can be integrated throughout companies’ supply chains.
Bahrain’s labour force of over 760,000 workers comprises a large proportion of construction workers, many of whom are expatriate workers. Globally as well as regionally, construction workers are exposed to multiple safety risks in addition to flawed labour recruitment process and late payment of wages, and may have limited access to effective dispute resolution. These factors can leave workers vulnerable to labour exploitation (including forced labour) and impede the overall efficiency of the construction industry.
A particular area of concern is the trend towards extensive subcontracting and to the outsourcing of labour requirements to labour supply companies – complicating the monitoring of conditions of work.
This workshop brings together construction companies, ILO specialists and experts in the field and provides a conducive forum for sharing of experiences, challenges, and ways forward for possible improvements to the industry. The workshop also presents participants with tools developed by the ILO (for example, including the ITC-ACT/EMP Essentials of Occupational Safety and Health training package EOSH and FAIRWAY project’s “Guidance Tool for Business on Worker Welfare in the Construction Sector in the GCC” (forthcoming)), to support BCCI and its member companies to set up new relevant training services or upgrading existing ones, to help ensure that systems and implementation mechanisms are in conformity with existing legislation and international conventions.
This initiative is supported by the ILO Bureau for Employers' Activities (ACT/EMP) and the Regional Fair Migration Project in the Middle East (FAIRWAY). The FAIRWAY project is a regional initiative to support employers in the construction sector to monitor and improve the conditions of vulnerable migrant workers.
The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) is the main voice of the private sector in Bahrain and represents the Employers’ Organizations of Bahrain as one of the tripartite constituents at the ILO. BCCI has been providing services and activities for Bahrain’s business and commercial community since 1939 – responding to global and national economic and social changes since its inception.
A particular area of concern is the trend towards extensive subcontracting and to the outsourcing of labour requirements to labour supply companies – complicating the monitoring of conditions of work.
This workshop brings together construction companies, ILO specialists and experts in the field and provides a conducive forum for sharing of experiences, challenges, and ways forward for possible improvements to the industry. The workshop also presents participants with tools developed by the ILO (for example, including the ITC-ACT/EMP Essentials of Occupational Safety and Health training package EOSH and FAIRWAY project’s “Guidance Tool for Business on Worker Welfare in the Construction Sector in the GCC” (forthcoming)), to support BCCI and its member companies to set up new relevant training services or upgrading existing ones, to help ensure that systems and implementation mechanisms are in conformity with existing legislation and international conventions.
This initiative is supported by the ILO Bureau for Employers' Activities (ACT/EMP) and the Regional Fair Migration Project in the Middle East (FAIRWAY). The FAIRWAY project is a regional initiative to support employers in the construction sector to monitor and improve the conditions of vulnerable migrant workers.
The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) is the main voice of the private sector in Bahrain and represents the Employers’ Organizations of Bahrain as one of the tripartite constituents at the ILO. BCCI has been providing services and activities for Bahrain’s business and commercial community since 1939 – responding to global and national economic and social changes since its inception.