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The Oman minister of manpower, Abdullah bin Nasser al Bakri, outlined key features of a proposed new labour law at a seminar hosted by the College of Tourism at the end of January.

According to the minister, the law introduces detailed provisions on occupational health and safety, labour inspection, trade unions and collective bargaining and the resolution of disputes. The law, currently in draft form, also envisages the establishment of a number of independent legal entities such as:-

• 1. a specialised new labour court to be set up by royal decree;
• 2. an independent commission for dispute resolution to mediate labour disputes, including union disputes, with the power to refer cases to either arbitration or to the labour court;
• 3. a high-level social dialogue committee to propose and comment upon draft laws impacting economic policy and to which Omanisation committees for different sectors of the economy would report.

The seminar was attended by key government officials, media and union representatives and leading NGOs and follows a 3-week online survey conducted by the Ministry as part of its public engagement and consultation process on the new law. The labour law revisions aim to improve significantly workers’ pay and conditions with the twin objectives of attracting to the private sector the tens of thousands of young Omani nationals entering the job market every year, and of meeting International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards.

Oman has not yet ratified the ILO’s Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention (C.87) nor the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention (C.98). Although the ILO cannot itself impose sanctions for failure to meet its standards, Oman is specifically required to implement them under the terms of the United States-Oman Free Trade Agreement (FTA) or to compensate in the form of monetary fines and the loss of trade benefits with the United States.