Bahrain unionists said they had registered another 59 sacked workers, taking the total to 835.

The workers have been visiting the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions(GFBTU) in Adliya for the past two weeks and registering to avail a monthly unemployment insurance scheme.

'We are still receiving cases of dismissed staff coming to register for the insurance scheme,' said a GFBTU spokesman.

'Those registering now are from Alba, Bapco, Gulf Air and other private firms.'

The largest number of sackings registered by the GFBTU so far are 194 from Alba, 154 from Bapco, 127 from APM Terminal and 120 from Batelco.

The number of registered workers from Gulf Air increased from 51 to 69 yesterday and Banagas from 14 to 24.

'The reports in the media are generating interest among those workers who did not show up at first and are now visiting union premises,' said the spokesman.

'We urge all sacked workers to register with us so that their cases will be dealt with fairly.'

The spokesman said they would continue to register workers until sackings are stopped in public and private sectors.

'We are open for registration for all sacked workers in the present situation. All cases will be compiled weekly and sent regularly to the Labour Ministry,' he said.

Our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News (GDN) reported yesterday that the GFBTU had listed details of 776 workers until Sunday and the list was submitted to the ministry.

The ministry will evaluate each case and summon companies if a dismissal is found to be unfair. Such cases will be directly referred to the Labour Court.

Ministries and companies in the public and private sector dismissed staff for allegedly skipping work to take part in anti-government protests, including a nationwide strike called by the GFBTU, and unjustified absenteeism.

The GFBTU last month contacted a coalition group of seven political societies to engage in the national dialogue process initiated by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander.

However, they refused to come to the table until certain conditions were met.-TradeArabia News Service