Sacked workers registered with unionists in Bahrain reached 1,123 yesterday. The General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) said they included 1,090 dismissed from the private sector and 33 from the public sector.

A GFBTU spokesperson said based on the latest figures, 451 workers had been sacked from Alba and Bapco.

It said the maximum number of workers sacked since the registration process started on April 6 was 240 from Alba and 211 from Bapco.

Other listed include 144 from Batelco, 137 workers from APM Terminals, 51 from Banagas and 34 from Asry.

The Bahraini workers dismissed from their jobs are registering with the unions to avail of the country's unemployment insurance scheme.

It offers job-seekers with a university diploma or degree monthly assistance of BD150, while undergraduates get BD120.

The GFBTU is compiling a list of the workers' details and sending it to the Labour Ministry on a weekly basis.
 The ministry is evaluating each case and summoning companies if a dismissal is found to be unfair.

A special committee had been formed to look into dismissal of workers. It followed directives of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, said a Gulf Daily News report.

The panel is headed by Labour Minister Jameel Humaidan and includes the Civil Service Bureau chief, Justice, Islamic and Endowments Ministry under-secretary for justice affairs and head of legislation and legal affairs.

The ministry will refund any amount cut from salaries of workers, who were found to have been absent from work with a valid reason.

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

The GFBTU called a nationwide strike on February 20, but called it off after security forces withdrew from the GCC (Pearl) Roundabout.

It then announced an indefinite strike on March 13 in solidarity with anti-government protesters, after police tried to evict demonstrators from outside Bahrain Financial Harbour.

Protesters prevented staff from reaching workplaces by blocking King Faisal Highway in Manama and attacked police who tried to disperse them.

The union later said the strike would be called off once it was safe for workers to resume their duties.

Authorities launched a security crackdown on March 16 after evicting protesters from the roundabout, but the union continued its strike until March 22.