OMAN COMMITS TO SIGNIFICANT LABOR REFORMS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 000531 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARPI (S. STEINGER) AND DRL (J. DEMARIA) DEPARTMENT PASS USTR FOR J. BUNTIN AND A. ROSENBERG DOL FOR J. SHEA AND B. SHEPARD US MISSION GENEVA FOR LABOR ATTACHE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SUBJECT: OMAN COMMITS TO SIGNIFICANT LABOR REFORMS ¶1. (U) On March 26, Minister of Commerce and Industry Maqbul bin Ali Sultan transmitted the following letter to Congressman Bill Thomas, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Shared with the Embassy by a Min Commerce official, the letter is in response to questions raised about Oman's compliance with recently ratified International Labor Organization (ILO) Conventions. ¶2. (U) Begin text of letter: I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to work with you on the passage of the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement and I welcome your interest in our labor laws. Over the last few years Oman has made significant progress in reforming our laws to comply with the International Labor Organization (ILO) core labor standards. We are currently consulting with the ILO to further modernize our laws and practices, taking into account the ILO standards. Therefore, Oman makes the following commitments: ¶1. Oman is hosting an ILO delegation in April of this year in order to determine how to incorporate ILO Convention 98 into our labor laws. Oman will then seek the views of the Council of Oman, the Council of Ministers, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, representative committees and other interested parties (hereinafter, "Interested Parties"). Thus, Oman will be able to issue a Ministerial Decision, after consultation with Interested Parties, no later than October 31, 2006 that incorporates the standards of ILO Convention 98 into Oman labor laws. ¶2. The Ministerial Decision referenced in number 1 above will clarify that Article (106) of the Omani labor law allows workers, at their option, to be reinstated for any termination that resulted from lawful union activity. ¶3. After consultation with Interested Parties, Oman will issue a Royal Decree amending Royal Decree 35/2003 (Omani labor law) by no later than October 31, 2006, that states that more than one representative committee may be formed in order to represent workers in their relations with a single enterprise. ¶4. After consultation with Interested Parties, Oman will issue a Royal Decree amending Royal Decree 35/2003, as noted in point 3 above, to amend Articles (108-110) of the labor law to reflect that each representative committee may belong to the Main Representative Committee and that other main representative bodies may be formed. This action will be taken no later than October 31, 2006. ¶5. After consultations with Interested Parties, Oman will issue a Ministerial Decision by no later than October 31, 2006, ensuring that penalties for anti-union discrimination are adequate to deter acts of discrimination. ¶6. After consultations with the ILO and with Interested Parties, Oman will issue a Ministerial Decision by no later than October 31, 2006, that will ensure that technical standards for strikes do not exceed the standards of the ILO. ¶7. As provided by the Basic Law of Oman, Oman does seek the views of Interested Parties before making any changes in the legislation and will commit to continue this practice in the future. ¶8. After consultations with Interested Parties, Oman will amend Ministerial Decisions 135/2004 and 136/2004 by no later than October 31, 2006, in order to remove all government involvement in representative committees' activities. End Text. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶3. (U) According to members of the Main Representative Committee (MRC),the ILO delegation will arrive in Muscat on April 4 for a two day fact-finding mission and to review possible technical assistance plans. MRC members are anxious to begin basic skills building and organizational training and have already received offers from union representatives in Bahrain, Jordan and Morocco to come to Oman to meet counterparts, share experiences and network. Committee members, some unaware of the behind-the-scenes commitments, are upbeat and positive about ongoing developments at the Ministry of Manpower and are encouraged by significant changes that appear to be forthcoming. GRAPPO