US embassy cable - 04MANAMA726

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000726 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR DRL: KAUDROUE AND NEA/ARP, 
CAIRO FOR STEVE BONDY, 
LONDON FOR ETHAN GOLDRICH, 
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR LEWIS KARESH AND SUDHA HALEY 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO UNITED STATES TRADE WILLIAM CLATANOFF 
AND JASON BUNTIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, KTEX, KMPI, ETRD, PREL, KWMN, BA 
SUBJECT: PERSPECTIVE OF SOME SHI'A WOMEN APPAREL INDUSTRY 
WORKERS 
 
1.  (U)  SUMMARY.  Bahrain anticipates that the WTO-mandated 
end of textile quotas at the beginning of 2005 will cause its 
garment manufacturing sector to contract.  The Ministry of 
Industry estimates that there are 3,600 conservative Bahraini 
Shi'a women working in this industry. There are few 
industries in which these Arab women are able to work limited 
by their adherence to conservative social mores. The loss of 
these jobs is politially salient considering an official 15 
percent unemployent rate that already disproportionately 
affects the Shia' population.  During April and May 2004, 
PolOff visited more than half of the garment factories and 
surveyed 150 Bahraini Shi'a female workers to gain insight 
into possible options for them.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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THE FACTORIES 
------------- 
 
2.  (U)  At the start of 2003, there were 24 garment 
factories in Bahrain, employing over 13,000 foreign and 3,700 
Bahraini workers, mostly conservative Shi'a women. In the 
last seven months nine factories have closed due to lack of 
orders and in anticipation of the WTO-mandated end of US 
textile quotas on January 1, 2005. The remaining 15 factories 
each employ anywhere from 250 - 1,200 Bahraini workers.  The 
Ministry of Industry estimates that 3,600 Bahrainis still 
work in the industry.  These factories manufacture clothing 
primarily for K-Mart, Sears, WalMart, JC Penney and The Gap. 
Textiles and apparel comprise 60 percent of Bahrain's total 
exports to the US.  Most factories segregate its Shi'a female 
workers from the foreign male workers.  According to the 
Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry Textile Committee, 
over 90 percent of Bahraini female workers work in the 
finishing process, the lowest skill level of apparel 
manufacturing.  Factories provide separate prayer/locker 
rooms for women.  The monthly wage for 160 hours is BD120 
(USD318).  Workers do not receive private healthcare 
insurance but factories do make contributions for their 
pensions. (NOTE The GOB provides free healthcare to its 
citizens. END NOTE) 
 
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THE WOMEN...AND SOME MEN 
------------------------ 
 
3.  (U)  The 150 women interviewed range from 21 - 42 years 
old and are single or divorced.  Most of them live in their 
parents' homes in nearby Shi'a neighborhoods. Ex-husbands of 
those who were previously married have custody of the 
children.  Family size ranged from 6 to 12 persons.  Unlike 
the older women, the younger ones do not contribute a large 
part of their salary to the family unit. The majority did not 
finish high school.  Several of the older women lamented that 
they dropped out of school to support the family and had no 
possibility to obtain a higher education. 
 
4.  (U)  Only a handful of women claim to make decisions 
independently and do not follow the guidance of husbands, 
fathers or brothers.  To keep abreast of current events, most 
of the older women read the Arabic local newspaper "Al Ayam" 
and watch "Al Arabiya" channel television.  The younger set 
used the Internet as its primary source of information and 
spend more than 10 hours per week in chat rooms.  More than 
half of the women interviewed voted in 2002 Municipal 
elections.  However, less than 20 voted in the 2002 national 
elections.  Only one woman, 30-year-old Mousa, boldly stated 
that she would run for office, if she could get a higher 
education first.  None of the women were members of NGOs or 
political societies. 
 
5. (U)  Unknown to both the President of the Textile Union 
and the Ministry of Industry Textile Affairs Representative, 
there are 11 Shi'a men who work in the garment industry. 
Their ages range from 18 - 24 years old.  All of them are 
single, still live with their parents, high school graduates 
and members of the largest opposition society Al-Wifaq.  They 
use the Internet and read the independent Arabic local 
newspaper "Al Wasat" for their main sources of information. 
All who were eligible in 2002 (age 21) voted in both the 
national and municipal elections. A 23-year-old man named 
Ibrahim told PolOff on April 28 that he chose to work in the 
garment industry because he has aspirations of becoming a 
fashion designer.  But Ibrahim is the exception to the rule. 
The others stated that they work to support the family. 
Eighteen year old Jassim said that it was important to keep 
busy and do something positive.  Jassim told PolOff that so 
many young unemployed Shi'a men get into trouble because they 
have no where to place their energy. 
 
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THE UNION 
--------- 
 
6.  (U)  For the most part, factory management allows union 
representatives access to workers.  However, the women 
interviewed unanimously view the textile union as not worth 
the monthly 500 fils (USD1.33) dues. At Continental Garment 
factory, the women workers designated five women to become 
union members and represent all of them.  This group of five 
women fields all complaints and demands to the union. 
Workers described union activities at other factories as far 
less organized.  The textile union has yet to bargain 
collectively with management on any issues. President of the 
Textile Trade Union Khadija Attiya told PolOff on May 12 that 
there are 250 dues-paying members out of a total of 12,000 
textile workers.  She claims that she has encountered some 
resistance from management to her efforts to recruit union 
members, and a couple of factories have forbidden her access 
to foreign workers.  Even though the 2002 Trade Union Law 
allows foreigners to join trade union, none have done so. 
Attiya cited that foreign workers are afraid to join for fear 
of losing their jobs and/or being repatriated.  She has not 
heard of any factory management threatening repatriation or 
loss of jobs.  She also admits that she has little support 
from the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions.  Attiya 
told us that she needs support and more training. 
 
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THE ISSUES 
---------- 
 
7.  (U)  The majority of women cited naturalization of Arab 
non-Bahrainis as the main issue facing indigenous ethnic 
Bahrainis, alleging that naturalized Sunni Yemenis and 
Syrians take finishing and sewing jobs away from Bahrainis. 
The second most important issue was sectarian discrimination 
against the Shi'a. All agreed that housing is scarce and the 
cost of living is rising. However, they also acknowledged 
that women rights have greatly expanded. 
 
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OPTIONS FOR THE FUTURE - THE WORKERS' VIEWS 
------------------------------------------- 
 
8.  (U)  Very few Bahraini women purposely chose to work in 
the apparel industry. Many asserted that they work at an 
apparel job because it earns the higher end of the "minimum 
wage."  When asked what they would like to do if the apparel 
industry did not exist in Bahrain, only a handful thought 
they could be re-trained to become a secretary or an 
accounting clerk.  Several said that they would like to 
receive more education and pursue careers in nursing and 
teaching.  However, the overwhelming majority could not 
conceive of working at any other job. 
 
9.  (U) COMMENT.  The WTO-mandated end of textile quotas 
could cause several hundred conservative Shi'a women to lose 
their jobs.  The loss of these jobs is politically relevant 
considering the high unemployment rate that already 
disproportionately affects the Shi'a population. 
Unemployment is a main bone of contention between the GOB and 
the opposition.  In addition, the end of textile quotas and 
the possible effective date of US-Bahrain Free Trade 
Agreement (FTA) is January 1, 2005.  The FTA could be blamed 
for job losses resulting from the end of quotas, causing a 
public relations nightmare for both the USG and the GOB.  In 
order to mitigate the impact of the loss of these jobs, this 
issue will merit serious attention from the GOB, business 
community, the union and NGOs.  END COMMENT. 
FORD