Strike of 5,000 construction workers in Bahrain comes to an end

A strike by more than 5,000 construction workers at the Bahraini unit of a UAE firm ended after the firm paid out part of the outstanding wages.

An official at the ministry of labor said that “They received one month payment, and will receive April and May within one week.”

The Gulf Daily News reported on Thursday that the building workers, employed by the local branch of the United Arab Emirates' Al Hamad Contracting Co, staged the strike on Wednesday. The newspaper said that “Since February, the company has been delaying our salaries by a month and now owes us two months' wages.”

A spokesman for the Marina West development, for which Al Hamad is the main contractor, confirmed that workers were back to work on the site.

Ezz Watson, contract manager for Al Hamad, said the company had not delayed payments to laborers.