Brussels, 14 February 2018: Today marks the seventh anniversary of Bahrain's peaceful uprising brutally repressed by the authorities. Since then, the government of Bahrain has been increasingly backtracking on the promises of reform it made following the 2011 report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), which revealed systematic torture, arbitrary detentions, and extrajudicial killings. It is estimated that around 4,500 workers from both the public and private sectors were fired on the basis of their political opinions and for attending strike calls.

''We are deeply disappointed about the lack of progress in implementing the 2014 Tripartite Agreement on the reinstatement of dismissed workers. Not only the process of reinstatement is still not finalised, but those reinstated were subjected to wage discrimination, harassment or were downgraded, and our GFBTU leaders have faced travel bans. We urge the government of Bahrain to address the GFBTU appeal to finalise the implementation of the Tripartite Agreement and to implement the 2017 CAS conclusions,'' said Sharan Burrow, ITUC Secretary General.

The ITUC represents 202 million members of 331 affiliates in 163 countries and territories.