| TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber has sent a message of support to his opposite number in Bahrain, Salman Jaffar Al Mahfoodh, General Secretary of the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU). The statement expresses solidarity with Bahraini unions and the general strike called by the GFBTU for Sunday 20 February, in support of the protests for democracy. The TUC has also written to the Bahraini Ambassador in London urging him to register concerns with his government over the violent repression of demonstrators over the past few days, and calling for the right to peaceful protest to be respected. The GFBTU is a sister member of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and in recent days the ITUC has protested at the repression of demonstrators protesting for democracy and jobs in the capital, Manama, calling for an end to violence and the opening of dialogue. Background See the ITUC Spotlight interview with Salman Jaffar Al Mahfoodh from December, and an interview with young trade union activist Fadhel Abbas Ali about the situation facing migrant workers in Bahrain. For more information on trade union rights in Bahrain, see the ITUC Annual Survey of Violations |