JUDGES NEED TRAINING TO IMPLEMENT LABOR LAWS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 000410

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PI, DRL FOR AANZALDUA
USTR FOR JBUNTIN AND AROSENBERG
DOL FOR CPONTICELLI, JSHEA, BSHEPARD AND JRUDE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ELAB ETRD KMPI MU
SUBJECT: JUDGES NEED TRAINING TO IMPLEMENT LABOR LAWS

Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo for Reasons 1.4 b/d.


1. (SBU) Summary: During a recent Embassy-sponsored small
group discussion on the role of the courts in implementing
Oman's labor laws, business and labor leaders expressed a
lack of confidence in the judicial process and judges'
ability to settle labor disputes. The participants
identified a possible future role for the courts in
developing labor law jurisprudence and providing injunctive
relief in labor cases. They stated, however, that judges
need a significant amount of training before courts can
assume these roles and looked to the U.S. to provide
capacity-building assistance. End Summary.


2. (C) On May 27, Post assembled a small group of Omanis
representing business, labor, lawyers and the judiciary to
participate in a discussion on the role of Oman's courts in
implementing labor laws and supporting the reforms of 2006
that legalized labor unions, collective bargaining and the
right to strike. Business representatives were largely
critical of the judiciary, displaying a lack of confidence in
the ability of judges to apply the law correctly. Simon
Karam, CEO of TRAVO, a mid-sized construction company,
claimed that judges generally identify the worker as the
aggrieved party regardless of the facts of the case. "We
employers are terrified of the courts," he said. He further
complained that judges appear to award damages in wrongful
dismissal cases on the basis of compassion rather than
according to a transparent formula that takes into account
factors such as the worker's position in the company and
length of time on the job. Karam's lack of faith in the
courts affects his everyday business decisions, he said. He
has an unwritten policy of never firing an Omani employee,
for example, because he is sure that he would lose the
inevitable court challenge.


3. (C) Another participant, Raymond Bejjani, General Manager
of Catering and Supply Company, said that he and his
colleagues have an immediate need for clarity on how Omani
labor laws apply to emerging workplace issues. One such
issue, he offered, concerns the amount and type of
compensation to which a contract employee is entitled if he
loses his job due to the cancellation of the contract.
Bejjani explained that while Article 47 of the 2003 Labor Law
states that "the successor (to a contract) shall be jointly
liable with the previous employer for discharging all the
contract obligations," most companies that take over existing
contracts do not interpret this as a requirement to retain
the existing workforce. Confusion over the law's intent and
scope has resulted in several instances of labor unrest over
the past year, he and other participants said. The courts
need to get involved in settling these types of issues by
setting legal precedents. At present, Bejjani and others
lamented, judges often issue inconsistent and poorly-written
decisions that result in more confusion than clarity.


4. (C) Business participants also complained about
uncertainty in the relative authority of the courts and the
Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in handling labor disputes and
interpreting labor laws. Bejjani stated that there have been
several instances in which he has gone to the MOM for
assistance in settling a labor dispute only to have a judge
refuse to recognize the Ministry's decision. His experiences
are not unique, he said, and he called for greater
communication between the MOM and the courts. If MOM
decisions are not enforceable, he argued, then labor and
management have few viable options to settle disputes before
they reach the courts.


5. (C) Essam Nassor al Sheibany, a member of the General
Federation of Oman's Laborers, Oman's national-level workers'
representative body, expressed a similarly dim view of the
courts. He commented that many workers believe the courts
take too long to settle disputes, which he attributed both to
the failings of the judicial system, in which judges often
are forced to hear criminal, family status, commercial and
labor cases in the same docket, as well as the incompetence
of individual judges. A worker who has been dismissed
unfairly from his job sometimes can wait as long as a year to
receive compensation or be reinstated, Sheibany asserted, a
delay most Omani and expatriate workers simply cannot afford.
To address these issues, Sheibany said that the General
Federation would like to see the creation of a specialized
cadre of judges who hear only labor cases, an idea that the
businessmen in the room quickly supported.


6. (C) Members of the legal profession defended the courts.
Majid al-Toky, Managing Partner of the prominent law firm

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Trowers & Hamlins, acknowledged that many of Oman's judges
lack experience and require "training, training, training."
He stated, however, that CEOs of private companies must share
the blame with judges for the inability of the courts to
settle disputes and establish jurisprudence. Many executives
believe that their companies are their private domains, Toky
commented, and that they can fire workers without proper
cause or documentation. "They then wonder why they never win
their court case," he laughed, adding that companies have a
responsibility to understand the law's requirements and
develop internal human resource systems to meet them. Said
Shahry, Managing Partner of the law firm SASLO and former
member of the Majlis al-Shura, the elected lower house of
Oman's proto-legislature, said that workers and labor unions
have the same responsibility to understand the law and how to
properly document their claims. Pointing to the member of
the General Federation, Shahry said, "It will be part of your
responsibility to raise awareness."


7. (SBU) Comment: Participants in the roundtable discussion
suggested that they would welcome a larger judicial role in
labor issues, including court injunctions mandating mediation
of disputes, before the management-worker relationship is
irrevocably damaged. The need for judicial training to
fulfill this goal was a constant refrain, and participants
looked to the U.S. to play a prominent role in building the
capacity of Oman's judges. Based on the discussion, some
areas for future Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI)
training could include: writing judicial decisions that stand
up to appellate review; interpretation and application of
existing statutes with respect to emerging legal issues; and
dispute resolution. The participants' comments about the
lack of consistency and clarity in judicial decisions
reinforced the potential value of a current MEPI-funded
project to develop bench books on labor law as a reference
for judges presiding over labor cases. End Comment.
GRAPPO