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'File 10/3 BAPCO labour' [‎44r] (79/296)

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The record is made up of 1 file (148 folios). It was created in 6 Jan 1945-12 Apr 1950. It was written in English and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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2
Company could obviously not accede to organised demands for
revised rates of pay and that rather than do so they would close
down the whole Refinery.
?• At 1630 hours the three spokesmen arrived and I went
through their demands one by one, I pointed out that discharge
for cause did not entitle them under the Foreign Service Agree
ment to pay in lieu of three months notice and asked them if
they contended that they had not given cause. I understood that
in certain individual cases there were reasons for holding that
cause for absenting themselves was not admitted, e.g.
(a) one man was issued with a letter discharging
him for cause in that he absented himself on the 25th August
(when he came down to the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. with permission according to him)
and that the cause was premeditated. The strikers maintained
that the normal practice was to discharge for cause for absence
from work only after the third day of abdence. I think their
contention had some justification but the Company held that the
absence was deliberate and premeditated.
One of their spokesmen wished to protest against
discharge for cause and drafted a letter there and then in which
he stated that "he accepted dismissal under Clause IX. ,,
It took some time for me to persuade him of the
futility of issuing a letter of that nature.
The spokesmen eventually agreed that, if they wished
to protest against discharge for cause and loss of three months
pay in lieu of notice, their best course was to consult a lawyer
On return to South Africa and take civil action to remedy their
complaint.
8. With regard to their second demand to be allowed to
draw vacation pay and their thrift fund in Bahrain, I explained
that the Company informed me that it was clearly laid down in
the Employee's Handbook and the Thrift Fund Rules that in the
case of discharge for cause neither allowance was payable.
All three spokesmen said that the vacation allowance
and thrift fund had been paid in several cases they knew of and
claimed similar treatment.
I told them that the Company v /ere intending to give
them their vacation allowance (Mr.Ward Anderson told me so that
morning) but not the thrift fund. The spokesmen were not impress
ed by this concession because it would, in practice, be held
against the cost of transportation. They also admitted after
some argument that the Company was perfectly at liberty legally
to grant or refuse concessions over and above the contract.
9. Their final demand was that their transportation be
paid in full and a reasonable daily allowance given for the time
en route.
Mr. Ward Anderson had told me that the Company were,
as usual, paying the cost of tfcansportation, and hotel bills en
route. This I explained to them and they demanded a daily allow
ance for cigarettes, etc. I agreed to speak to the Chief Local
Representative on the latter point (he later agreed to give them
this allowance which he told me might be "smart policy";.
10. This interview lasted two hours in all and, in the
beginning, there seemed to be little chance of a compromise
being reached. The strikers and their representatives were
extremely obdurate and obstinate and in my opinion illogical
and ill advised in their actions. In the end the spokesmen
agreed to inform the other strikers that their best course, as
they refused point blank to return to work, was to take legal
opinion in South Africa and, if they wished, civil action agains
the Company^ agents there.
They did, however, finally agree, after a lengthy
discussion on the principles of equal pay for all persons
irrespective of nationality or different costs of living, etc.
they did agree that there was nothing to be gained by their
staging/

About this item

Content

The file contains correspondence and telegrams between the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. in Bahrain and representatives of the Bahrain Petroleum Company Limited (BAPCO) on discontent and strike among workers employed by BAPCO on the salaries, the cost of transportation and the conditions for the relocation.

The file includes statements from BAPCO employees, rates of pay for R.A.F. civilian employees (folios 113-115), extract from FREE PRESS JOURNAL, Friday 9 July 1948 on racism against Indian BAPCO employees. There are some documents in Arabic.

There is an index at the end of the file (folios 151-157).

Extent and format
1 file (148 folios)
Arrangement

The reference number 10/1-G Vol II on the cover is crossed and the file was then renumbered as 10/3. The documents in the file are arranged in chronological order. There is an index at the end of the file (folios 151-157). The index is arranged chronologically and refers to documents within the file; it gives brief description of the correspondence with a reference number in red or blue crayon, which refers back to that correspondence in the file.

Physical characteristics

The foliation starts on the first page of the file, mostly in pencil, occasionally pen or typescript, in top right corner of recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. . The following numbering anomalies occurs: 4, 4A; 16 is the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. of 15; 18 is the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. of 17; folio 20 is the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. of 19; 29 is the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. of 28; 31 is the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. of folio 30; 75 is the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. of 74; 77 is the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. of 76; 125 is the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. of 124; 99-103 do not exist.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'File 10/3 BAPCO labour' [‎44r] (79/296), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/419, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100024096156.0x000050> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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