MUSCAT — Oman has legalized trade unions and strikes as part of labor law reforms announced before the US Congress votes on a free trade agreement between the two countries.
Oman, a non-OPEC producer of oil and natural gas, signed a trade pact with the United States, which is pressing its allies in the Gulf Arab region to do more to protect the rights of workers, mostly low-wage labor from Asia.
The official Oman News Agency said Sultan Qaboos ibn Said issued a decree late Saturday amending the labor code and local newspapers published details of the reforms yesterday.
The decree allows workers to form trade unions to protect their rights and lobby for better working conditions. The unions will be independent and union representatives cannot be dismissed or punished for their role.
It stated that “laborers will be able to form syndicates that aim to protect their interests and defend their rights,” Al-Shabibi newspaper quoted the decree as saying.
The decree also bans employers from firing or penalizing labor representatives on the grounds of their union activities, the daily added.
It also allowed in principle — and for the first time — the organization of “peaceful strikes”, but said that a ministerial decision will be issued to set the rules for such action.
“The (labor) minister will issue a decision allowing collective bargaining to settle disputes and improve working conditions and qualifications, as well as peaceful strikes and shutdowns,” Al-Watan daily said quoting the decree.
Labor in the sultanate previously had only representative committees which enjoyed less powers than unions.
“Transforming labor representative committees to syndicates is a great achievement for the labor force,” said Abdul Azim Al-Bahrani, the head of the general labor representative committee.
The sultanate has a population of about 3 million and foreigners make up about 75 percent of the private sector work force.
Washington has been urging Gulf states to amend worker rights laws to conform to International Labor Organization standards, to qualify for free trade pacts.
The US Senate approved the trade pact with Oman late last month. A vote by the full US House of Representative is due this month on the pact, designed to boost bilateral trade which stood at about $1 billion in 2005.
Oman’s neighbor, the United Arab Emirates, is seeking a free trade pact with the US. The UAE has said it is amending its labor laws but that it is not willing to make any political concessions to secure the agreement.
Labor rights were also a stumbling block in Washington’s free trade talks with Qatar, with Doha freezing negotiations in April and saying the United States needed to be more flexible.
