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