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Bahrainis protest to demand jobs back

15 December 2011 23:23 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Bahraini workers have protested in the capital, Manama, to call for the reinstatement of all the workers sacked by the ruling regime, APA reports quoting Press TV.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Ministry of Labor on Thursday to voice their demand.

Among the demonstrators were 18 Bahraini teachers who had recently been expelled from their school for taking part in anti-regime protests.

The Thursday event was the fourth such demonstration Bahraini workers have staged in front of the labor ministry in the past months.

The rally comes after Bahrainâ€™s Interior Ministry prevented a similar protest in front of the Civil Service Bureau.

At least 500 students have been expelled from universities as part of a crackdown on anti-regime demonstrations since Manama launched a brutal crackdown on opposition protests in February.

Bahrain has been the scene of protests ever since as thousands of people have been staging regular demonstrations in the country, calling on the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.

On March 14, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded the country to assist the Bahraini government to quell peaceful protesters.

In November, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry declared in a report that the regime was engaged in using "excessive force" to crush the popular protests.

The commission said it had received 1,624 complaints from individuals, saying they had been dismissed or suspended from their jobs.

The three major grounds used for firing employees in the public sector were absence from work, involvement in demonstrations, at times occurring on work premises, and the public display of opinions incompatible with internal regulations of the ministries involved.

Since the beginning of the popular uprising in Bahrain, dozens of people have been killed, some under torture, and many others injured.

Hundreds of protesters have also been detained by the US-backed dictatorship.