OMAN TIGHTENS LABOR LAW

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 001019

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/11/18
TAGS: ELAB KTIP MU
SUBJECT: OMAN TIGHTENS LABOR LAW

CLASSIFIED BY: Richard Schmierer, Ambassador, Department of State,
Embassy Muscat; REASON: 1.4(B),(D)


1. (U) Oman has published amendments to its labor law that further
restricts the ability of expatriate laborers to work for anyone
other than his/her sponsor and provides legal penalties, including
fines and jail time, for laborers, sponsors, and employers who
violate this law. Omani press reported on November 3 the details
of amended provisions to Omani Labor Law 35/2003 which were issued
by Royal Decree 63/2009. Penalties will be increased with
repetition of the violation. Non-Omani violators will be
repatriated at the expense of the employer and banned from
re-entering the Sultanate. Omani violators will be banned from
recruitment of non-Omani laborers for two years. The amendments
also provide further protections to employees who are unfairly
terminated, allowing the court to reinstate the employee or have
the employer pay compensation of between three months and one year
of the employee's salary. The amendments prescribe fines for
employers who do not meet their Omanization percentages. The
Ministry of Manpower (MoM) issued a half page announcement in
Arabic papers on November 17 stressing compliance with the new
decree.




2. (C) Khalid Mahmood, Immigration Counsellor at the Pakistani
Embassy, in a meeting with poloff, described a practice commonly
known as "free visas," in which expatriate workers enter the
Sultanate under an Omani sponsor and then are "free" to work for
any employer. Pay is typically higher on this "gray" market;
however, the expatriate must pay additional fees to the sponsor for
the arrangement. Although the practice appears to give workers
greater employment flexibility, Mahmood emphasized that most
expatriates do not understand the situation before they arrive and
are left with no recourse should anything go wrong once in country.





3. (C) The October 6 issue of the English language weekly, "The
Week," reported raids on labor camps conducted on September 29.
The MoM's joint labor inspection team rounded up employees without
proper labor cards and/or visas. The sponsors of those with labor
cards were required to meet with the inspectors. Note: The fact
that one camp housed employees with many different sponsors likely
indicates that the workers there were not working for their
sponsors. End Note.




4. (C) Comment: It appears that the new decree is intended to
crack down on the "free visa" system in Oman. It has been a common
practice for an employee to work for someone other than his/her
sponsor or in addition to his/her sponsor. This system often
benefits the employee and allows him/her to earn extra money.
However, it provides no protection to employees if there are
problems or health issues and can easily be exploited by employers.
Although creating a more restricted labor market for employees, the
law also provides greater protections. End Comment.
Schmierer