A Breakaway trade union was launched yesterday to challenge Bahrain's main labour organisation, which has been accused of being too political.

The Bahrain Labour Union Free Federation (BLUFF) has been formed in competition with the existing General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU), which was previously the only umbrella organisation grouping together unions of different sectors.

It is described as an independent body that will represent the interests of both Bahrainis and expatriates, without any political agenda.

However, those behind BLUFF say it also aims to support efforts to achieve national unity.

"This labour federation is independent and will solely work on issues related to workers, it has nothing to do with anything political," said founding member and Alba Trade Union chairman Ali Albinali, who cancelled his membership of the GFBTU last month saying it failed to address problems faced by workers, politicised labour rights and worked against national interests.

He said BLUFF was set up to push for the rights of workers and to break the monopoly of the GFBTU, which was directly responsible for a series of nationwide strikes designed to put pressure on the government during anti-government protests last year.

The strikes were a deliberate attack on the national economy, but resulted in several workers being sacked for failing to show up for work - although most have since been reinstated.

"GFBTU took the wrong stance during the unrest by going on strike, which was purely political and did not represent the views of Bahraini workers," said Mr Albinali.

"The union leaders took wrong positions that affected workers, who ended up being dismissed or sacked from their jobs."

BLUFF was launched by unionists and former MPs at a ceremony at the Gulf Hotel's Gulf Convention Centre.

Mr Albinali said it was made possible by a Royal decree last year that amended the law on trade unions, allowing them to break off from the GFBTU to form a separate federation.

"We wanted to end this one-man show of the GFBTU taking decisions related to workers," he added.

However, he denied that the new organisation was influenced by the government.

"Some may say we are a government-backed group, but that is not the case," he said.

"We want the same financial assistance and other benefits that GFBTU and its members get from the government, since now we are a recognised labour federation."

BLUFF will have 15 board members who will be elected today and so far has close to 5,000 workers backing it.

"There will definitely be at least two women representing the new board," said Mr Albinali.

He said the GFBTU currently represented more than 12,000 members, but he hoped BLUFF would attract close to 20,000 Bahraini and expatriates and was charging just 250 fils per month for membership.

"We have unionists from Alba, Bapco, Garmco, Bahrain Airport Services, Asry and GPIC backing us and are in the process of joining other trade unions under the umbrella of the new labour federation," he said.

He pledged the new federation would not be based on sectarian lines and would be geared only towards promoting workers' interests.

"Everybody wants increases in their salaries and good medical care, among other benefits," he said.

"But we will also push for minimum wage in different sectors and ensure foreigners have fair representation in trade unions."

Unionists previously said foreign workers shied away from joining trade unions, fearing they would be sacked.

However, Mr Albinali said expats were often ignored in union activities and decisions despite playing a key role in the economy.

"When workers went on a strike called by the GFBTU last year, it was only the foreigners who continued to work for those companies during tough times," he said.

"Then there are cases of poor workers who are paid low salaries and exploited, so all these issues combined can be addressed if there is an expatriate presence on trade unions."

He said steps were already being taken to integrate foreign workers into the Bapco and Asry trade unions, which would be expanded to other groups. "If we all unite and work together, this new labour federation will be the biggest and strongest in Bahrain and will be able to deal with economic and social issues," said Mr Albinali.