Bahrain Mirror: The Secretary General of the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions, Hassan Al Halwachi, said Bahraini women still suffer from low wages in the private sector, explaining that they receive less than 100 dinars per month in the kindergarten sector.

In a speech during the opening ceremony at the Fourth Working Women Conference 2016, Al Halwachi said that the trade union movement "has been since its beginning, proactive in the women empowerment to take leading positions." "Today, union women fill 4 trade union positions out of the 15 at the Secretariat General of the Union, around the quarter in the executive structure", he added.

"At a time when we are proud of the women contribution in the governmental sector, especially in the education and health sectors, yet in the private sector, their contribution still needs more work. More boundaries should be moved; those which are preventing the women's complete involvement in labor", Al Halwachi further added.

Moreover, he added, "Although our struggle for women's rights yielded positive results which we are proud the have achieved; i.e. the equality between women in the private and government sector, concerning the maternity leave (...), setting it at 60 days instead of 45. The struggle however must continue to reduce the wage gap between women and men, and promote chances for development and prosperity without discrimination."

As an example, Al Halwachi indicated how women "at kindergartens get paid a salary of less than 100 Dinars, a rate which no man would work for in any sector."

Arabic Version