OFFICIALS SAY OMAN STILL ON TRACK TO PUBLISH NEW

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 001458 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARPI, DRL (A. ANZALDUA) STATE ALSO FOR NEA/PI (S. FRANCESKI AND B. ORBACH) DEPARTMENT PASS USTR FOR J. BUNTIN AND A. ROSENBERG DOL FOR J. SHEA, B. SHEPARD AND J. RUDE US MISSION GENEVA FOR LABOR ATTACHE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB ETRD KMPI PGOV PHUM MU SUBJECT: OFFICIALS SAY OMAN STILL ON TRACK TO PUBLISH NEW UNION REGULATIONS REF: MUSCAT 01084 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Officials at the Ministry of Manpower claim they are on track to publish regulations implementing recent reforms to Oman's labor law before the target date of October ¶31. The International Labor Organization (ILO) has seen a draft of the regulations and provided comments. Union representatives, however, complain that they have been left out of the process. In addition, contacts at the Ministry state that the new regulations may necessitate immediate union elections, a measure opposed by union representatives. End Summary. -------------- Ministry Preparing to Issue Guidelines -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Undersecretary for Labor Affairs, Sayyid Hamad bin Hilal al-Busaidi, stated October 9 to POLOFF and members of a visiting ILO delegation that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is putting the final touches on regulations to enforce and implement labor law reforms specificed in Royal Decree 74/2006 of July 8 (reftel). The new regulations, contained in two ministerial decrees, cover freedom of association, collective bargaining and the right to strike. A special committee of the MOM's Department of Legal Affairs has completed its review of the regulations for freedom of association, according to the Undersecretary and officials from that department, and plan to review the remaining regulations in the next few days. ¶3. (SBU) The Undersecretary commented that the government is intent upon completing the regulations before October 31, the date the Sultanate previously set to bring its labor laws into compliance with the provisions of the US-Oman Free Trade Agreement (FTA). He turned down an offer from the ILO delegation for legal technical assistance to finish the regulations, stating that the MOM already incorporated comments from the ILO, which saw early drafts. The Undersecretary further stated that the regulations now are one step away from becoming law; once the special committee finishes its work, the MOM will send the regulations to the Ministry of Legal Affairs for final review and publication in the official gazette. (Note: Post asked to be provided with a draft of the regulations. Officials stated that the Ministry normally does not share draft laws with foreign missions, but that they will bring Post's request to the attention of the Minister of Manpower, Juma bin Ali al-Juma. End note.) -------------- Possibility of New Union Elections? -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Members of the General Federation of Workers of the Sultanate of Oman, formerly called the "Main Representative Committee," claim that the Ministry has not included them in the process of developing the implementing regulations as it moves quickly to meet FTA obligations. Nabhan al-Battashi, who heads the federation's Rights and Duties subcommittee, and Saoud al-Jabri, head of the External Relations subcommittee, complained that the Federation has not seen a draft of the regulations or been asked to provide substantive comment. As a result, they said, the Federation is uncertain what effect the regulations may have on the way unions currently are organized. ¶5. (SBU) Further, contacts at both the MOM and the Federation stated separately that they are aware of discussions within the Ministry to require new union elections immediately after the regulations are published. Saleh Ayil Khamis Alamri, Director General of the MOM's Department of Labor Care,and Yacoub al-Kharbushi, director of the MOM's newly-created Department of Union Organizations, stated that the regulations may invalidate the results of previous elections, and that new elections could be necessary to bring unions into compliance with the law. Al-Battashi and al-Jabri believe, however, that the Federation has received assurances from Minister al-Juma that unions will be able to maintain their current leadership for up to two years. They opined that the Federation needs time to organize, educate and prepare its members for new elections, estimating that at least 80% of the country's unions currently are inactive, and that members of the same union often do not know each other. MUSCAT 00001458 002 OF 002 ¶6. (SBU) Comment: Despite their frustration at being left out of the process, members of the Federation expect that the new regulations at least will delineate the space in which they can operate. The government hopes that the new regulations finally will satisfy its labor commitments under the FTA. FONTENEAU