Labor rights unsettle U.S.-Bahrain trade relations

   The United States has requested consultations with Bahrain under the Labor Chapter of the U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
   The request follows a December 2012 report by the U.S. Labor Department that highlighted labor issues stemming from Bahrain’s response to civil unrest in early 2011 in the Persian Gulf country and recommended actions to address those issues.
   “Ensuring that workers in Bahrain – and in other countries – can exercise their fundamental labor rights is a top priority for the Obama administration, and we expect that the action we are taking today will produce a collaborative discussion and positive resolution to these important labor issues,” said Acting United States Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis, in a statement. “We look forward to working with Bahrain to improve respect for labor rights through the mechanisms provided by our trade agreement.”
   The Labor Department issued the report in response to a submission filed by the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) regarding Bahrain’s commitments under the Labor Chapter of the U.S.-Bahrain FTA. The AFL-CIO alleged Bahrain had acted inconsistently with its labor obligations under the FTA in its response to civil unrest and national strikes in early 2011. The Labor Department’s report found that although Bahrain has taken important steps to address some of the labor issues arising from the 2011 unrest, including actions by the labor minister to seek reinstatement of most of the workers fired, the United States should request FTA labor consultations to develop a plan with Bahrain to address remaining concerns.