RECONCILING ANTI-TIP POLICY & RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MUSCAT 000388 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR G, M, RM, NEA/ARP, NEA/EX, G/TIP AND DRL DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FOR JRUDE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL ELAB SMIG AMGT MU SUBJECT: RECONCILING ANTI-TIP POLICY & RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRIORITIES: A REQUEST FOR GUIDANCE REF: A. MUSCAT 219 ¶B. 06 MUSCAT 1635 MUSCAT 00000388 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. (U) This is an action request. See paragraphs 9 through 12. ¶2. (SBU) Summary: Some expatriate workers who fill Oman's low-paid, low-skill service sector jobs face exploitative conditions and may be victims of trafficking. Workers in the commercial cleaning industry, including those under contract to clean the Chancery, are paid poorly due, in part, to the absence of a minimum wage for expatriate workers in Oman. Post is concerned that USG policy under the Federal Aquisition Regulations (FAR) of awarding contracts to the lowest technically-acceptable bidder may end up supporting the poor treatment (i.e. low wages) of workers, in contradiction to our labor and anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) agendas. Post seeks Department's guidance in resolving this dilemma. End summary. - - - - - - Background - - - - - - ¶3. (SBU) South Asian expatriate workers perform most of the low-skilled work in Oman's growing services sector (ref A). Some of these workers face conditions of labor exploitation, including long working hours for low pay, and live in often overcrowded and unhealthy, company-owned compounds locally known as "labor camps" (ref B). They may arrive in Oman with debt to recruitment agencies in their home countries that exceeds 400 OR (USD 1040). Workers often report that their Omani employers withhold their passports despite domestic law prohibiting the practice (ref B). Post is concerned that these conditions fall under the categories of abuse associated with trafficking in persons (TIP). - - - - - - - - - - - - The Cleaning Industry - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (SBU) Cleaning service companies, which are heavily dependent upon foreign labor from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh, are widely known to pay their employees very low salaries, placing them at particular risk of exploitation. Embassy contacts report that cleaners throughout the industry regularly work 10 to 12 hour days for a base wage as low as 30 Omani Riyal (OR) (USD 78) per month. In addition to base pay, cleaners' financial compensation includes an average of 150-200 beza per hour (less than one US dollar) for overtime in excess of nine hours per day, and a 15 OR (USD 39) per month food allowance. Workers generally do not receive the food allowance as part of their payment, however, because most companies withhold it in a book transfer to pay for food service that the company itself supplies. In addition to financial compensation, cleaning companies provide workers with one trip home every two years, and free housing in labor camps, the quality of which varies according to each company's standards, but is generally poor. Most companies also provide workers with some level of medical insurance (ref B). ¶5. (SBU) Contacts with ties to the industry describe the market for commercial cleaning services as an oligopoly, with four or five major companies dominating the market and controlling prices and, thereby, the value of labor. Wages for cleaners dropped by almost a third approximately five years ago, contacts claim, after one of those companies, Stag International, won a major cleaning contract with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) by cutting its labor costs through wage reductions. The rest of the industry quickly followed suit, dropping worker salaries, which have remained stagnant ever since. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Embassy,s Contract & TIP Concerns - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶6. (SBU) The Embassy is in the third year of a four-year contract with one of the largest cleaning companies in the industry, Kalhat. Under the terms of its contract, the Embassy pays Kalhat 1015 OR (USD 2636) per month for general cleaning services. Kalhat submitted the lowest priced, technically-acceptable bid among three bids to win the contract according to FAR guidelines. The contract commits Kalhat to uphold local labor laws, and allows the Embassy to suspend the contract if workers are not paid on time or show up at work without appropriate protective clothing or MUSCAT 00000388 002.2 OF 003 equipment. However, since Oman has not established a minimum wage for expatriate workers, Kalhat employees are not entitled to a base renumeration. Oman has a minimum wage for citizens only, which is 140 OR/month (USD 363). ¶7. (SBU) As part of its broader anti-TIP efforts, Post investigated the situation of workers under contract to clean the Chancery and perform basic landscaping services. Kalhat sends four cleaners and one supervisorto the Embassy five and a half days a week. On teir full days, two of the cleaners work for ten ours, including lunch and break time, and the oters for eight hours, leaving the Embassy at 1630by company transport for overtime work at separatelocations. The cleaners tell poloff that Kalhat ays them the industry average wage of 30 OR per onth, plus a 5 OR/month stipend. They receive fod in lieu of a 15 OR/month meal allowance, and an additional 15 OR/month (USD 39) for approximately 110 overtime hours, the majority of which is worked at sites other than the Embassy. The cleaners added that Kalhat withholds their passports. ¶8. (SBU) In February, poloff visited the Kalhat labor camp, located in the hala industrial area on the outskirts of Muscat,where the Embassy's cleaners reside. Prior to the visit, contacts told poloff that Kalhut runs oneof the better facilities for expatriate workers, aintaining a mess hall and health clinic on site The camp, however, which is home to 700 worker, appeared overcrowded. Groups of up to 60 workrs live in poorly ventilated dormitories that measre approximately 120 meters square. Bathrooms an toilets lack proper sanitation, with mold and peling paint indicating infrequent maintenance. fficials at the Ministry of Manpower, which is responsible for inspecting work and living sites, told poloff that they are aware that conditions in labor camps like Kalhat,s may not meet health and safety codes, and that the Ministry is in the process of upgrading its capacity to enforce them. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Comment & Action Request - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶9. (SBU) Post believes that the current wage for Kalhat's cleaners - set under imperfect and uncompetitive market conditions - is potentially exploitative. This low wage makes it extremely difficult for workers to pay off their debts to recruitment agencies or improve their living conditions. Post is working with partners in government, the private sector and labor groups to improve the situation of low-skilled workers under its anti-TIP, human rights and labor reform agendas. We are concerned, however, that the USG's current contracting and federal acquisition regulations convey a contradictory message by forcing the USG to contract with companies based primarily on price, without consideration for the larger context of worker rights. ¶10. (SBU) The Embassy also has a contract for gardening and landscaping services with the company Global Design Systems (GDS),whose workers report that they too receive very low salaries. Their wages and employment conditions also present a contradiction between the USG's concern for the fair treatment of workers and its desire to contain costs through the contracting process. Furthermore, Post understands that low-paid, expatriate contract workers are widely used to provide cleaning services elsewhere in the region. We consequently suspect that the problem of exploited labor working at U.S. diplomatic facilities is an issue that extends far beyond Oman. ¶11. (SBU) Post has identified two possible alternatives to conform its practices to the USG goal of ending labor exploitation: -- Make cleaning and gardening direct hire positions: According to USG wage and compensation rates for Oman, a direct hire employee at the FSN 2/1 level, which would include cleaning and gardening staff, would earn 3,314 OR/year (USD 8,608) or 276 OR (USD 717) per month in wages and allowances. This amount, which the USG considers a fair compensation, is more than five times the equivalent wage and allowance package currently earned by Kalhat and GDS employees. By making cleaning and gardening direct hire positions instead of contracted services, Post would be able to control the conditions of work and ensure that the employees were paid a non-exploitative wage. -- Demand that contracted employees receive the Omani minimum MUSCAT 00000388 003.2 OF 003 wage: In the absence of a universal minimum wage covering both Omani citizens and expatriate workers, the minimum wage of 140 OR/month for Omani citizens is the only official, domestic estimate of what may constitute a fair wage. Imminent passage of an expatriate minimum wage is unlikely given the potential negative political and economic effects of increased labor costs in an economy that is heavily dependent -- and becoming more so -- upon cheap foreign labor. Despite this political and economic reality, Post could demand that workers assigned to the Embassy be paid 140 OR/month when rebidding current contracts. Both companies likely would demand a higher contract price to recoup the additional labor costs, but the resultant gap in wages between those working at the Embassy and workers assigned to other sites could help call attention to inequities in the current wage structure. ¶12. (SBU) Either alternative outlined above would require significant additional resources for Post. Post requests Department feedback on our proposals, as well as specific guidance on how to ensure that contract workers at the Embassy are treated fairly and in accordance with USG human rights, labor and anti-trafficking principles. GRAPPO