'File 8/16 Bahrain Intelligence Summaries' [‎86r] (171/330)

2.
The pc pulation ccnt>inuc 1 "to live on V'/hont. ori^innlly los'tinGcl
for East Saudi Arabia as the U.K.C.C. have failed completely to
replenish cereal stocks,
261, The Bahrain Petroleum Company Limited
(i) Labour Strike
On December 23rd a number of men employed in the Refinery of
the Bahrain Petroleum Company struck work* The following lay more
men from the Refinery joined the strikers and during the next two
or three days men employed at Sitra unloading Refinery construction
equipment, and in the Transport Department ceased work. At one
time there were rather more than 600 men on strike. The Refinery
was able to carry 'n due to the fact that a certain number of men
remained at their work and volunteers were rapidly forthcoming from
the English and American employees in other departments of the Com
pany^ operations.
workmen made no specific complaint to the Company or to
His Highness the Shaikh or to 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. before going ont
on strike and it was not until the afternoon of the 24th that any
lemand was put forward in writing by the men.
It was unfortunate that the workmen lecilel to strike just
. when^they lid because the question of their pay had been under Us-
cussion for some time between the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. and the Company and sanc
tion for the increases which the'Company desired to make was receivel
from their Directors on the 25th of December. If the men had only
made a demand before leaving their work or had waite 1 another 48
hours a great deal of trouble would have been saved. *
There was close co-operation between the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , the Bahrain
GaT’eminent, and the Bahrain Petroleum Company and endeavours were
made to bring the strike to a rapid termination. As a result of
these enleavours the men had all returne l to work on the 31st of
December and the situation was normal on the 1st of January 1944.
Some of the men’s grievances which were recognized by the Company
as being justified have already been adjusted and the others are
being examined by the Manager of the Bahrain Petroleum Company, the
Adviser to the Bahrain Government, and 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. ".
* (ii) Fire.
On the 24th the Bahrain Petroleum Company’s cinema caught
fire and was burnt down. The financial loss to the Company amounts
to approximately•80,000 Dollars. This fire had no connection
whatsoever with the strike which was in progress at the time as it
was undoubtedly caused by a short in the illuminations of the
Christmas Tree which had been decorated the evening before.
\
The Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. .
A fine of fb.7,000 has been imposed on Mohammed Faraiduni a
resident of Dubai by the Shaikh of Dubai for smuggling sugar from
Dubai to the Persian Coast. The fine will be used to reduce the
price of cereals s >ld to the poorer elements of the town.
Obituary
On the 26th the mother of Shaikh Abdullah bin Isa al Khalifah,
an uncle of His Highness, died at Moharraq. The old lady was the
wife of Shaikh Isa His Highness’ grandfather and a person of con
siderable ability. She was at one time considered to be anti-
British in her sympathies and was Undoubtedly ill-disposed towards
the Adviser Mr. C.D. Belgrave, C.B.E. In her later years she
seems to have decided that both the British and the Adviser were n't
as black as she had previously imagined and died at the age of
nearly a hundred pro-British and on excellent terms with the Bahrain
Government, She was in full possession of her faculties to the last
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. paid the usual call of condolence on Shaikh
Abdullah bin Isa immediately after the burial.
/ 264 .
262.
263.