Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Oman (Ratification: 1998)

The Committee takes note of the supplementary information provided by the Government in light of the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 338th Session (June 2020). The Committee proceeded with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the supplementary information received from the Government this year, as well as on the basis of the information at its disposal in 2019.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Vulnerable situation of migrant workers to conditions of forced labour. Migrant workers and migrant domestic workers. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that migrant workers are covered by Labour Law No. 35 of 2003 (Chapter 2: Regulation of foreigners’ work) and that they can terminate their employment contract after a notification period of 30 days. The Committee also noted that migrant domestic workers are not covered by the Labour Law and that their work is regulated by Ministerial Order No. 1 of 2011, on the recruitment of non-Omani workers by private employment agencies, as well as the model contract for recruiting migrant domestic workers. It further noted that under Ministerial Decree No. 189/2004 on the Special Terms and Conditions of Domestic Workers, migrant domestic workers cannot work for another employer before completing the procedure of changing to another employer according to the national regulations (section 7). The Committee requested the Government to indicate the manner in which this category of workers can freely terminate their employment contract and to report on the number of employment transfers that took place in practice for migrant workers and migrant domestic workers.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that the period of time required to transfer a worker from one employer to another varies from a minimum of one day to a maximum of one month, depending on the readiness of the parties. The Government also states that there is no sponsorship (kafala) system in Oman and that the system in place is a temporary contractual relationship pursuant to an employment contract specifying the terms and signed by the worker and the employer. According to the Government, the reduction in the number of cases involving the transfer of workers is a positive reflection of labour force stability in employment, which provides evidence of a decent working environment in Oman as a result of the efforts made by the Ministry of Manpower, in cooperation with the ILO, to implement the Decent Work Country Programme since 2010.

Regarding migrant domestic workers, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the procedures for terminating domestic workers’ contracts and the period required to transfer their services from one employer to another are the same procedures as those that apply to all workers.

The Committee notes that pursuant to section 8 of Ministerial Decree No.189/2004, on the Special Terms and Conditions of Domestic Workers, the employment contract can be terminated by either the employer or the worker provided that one month’s notice is given. The worker is entitled to terminate the employment contract without providing a prior notice in case of abuse by the employer or a member of the employer’s family. The Committee notes however that pursuant to section 7(4), the migrant domestic worker cannot work for another employer before the recruiter relinquishes his sponsorship and completes the necessary procedures in this regard.

The Committee further notes that sections 17 and 20 of Foreign Residence Act No. 16/95 of 1995 provide that residence visas are granted to foreign workers by their sponsors, and the conditions and procedures of transfer of foreign workers to another sponsor are determined by the decision of the Inspector-General of the Ministry of the Interior. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s information in its supplementary report according to which the implementing regulation of the Foreign Residence Act was amended in 2020. Section 24 of the regulation, which provided that a foreign worker’s residence may be transferred to another employer only with the approval of the first sponsor-employer, has been amended. It is now provided that a foreign worker’s residence may be transferred from one employer to another who has a licence to recruit workers, provided that proof of the end, abrogation or termination of the worker’s employment contract is presented, and that proof of approval by the competent government agency of the second employer’s contract with the foreign worker is provided. The Government further indicates that 58,744 workers were transferred to a new employer in 2018, and 60,958 in 2019.

The Committee observes that while there are provisions allowing migrant workers, including domestic workers to terminate their employment contract, the conditions for changing employment remain difficult as the work permit of this category of workers is linked to their sponsor-employer pursuant to sections 17 and 20 of the Foreign Residence Act No.16/95 of 1995.The Committee notes that in its concluding observations of 2017, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) recommended that the Government of Oman review the kafala system, which operates against vulnerable migrant workers. The Committee further notes that this Committee observed that, while the Government had adopted a number of measures to protect the rights of female migrant domestic workers, the kafala system still increases their risk of exploitation. CEDAW was also concerned about: the exclusion from the Labour Law of this category of workers and, therefore, from access to the labour courts, their risk of facing charges of “absconding”, as well as the fact that forced labour is not criminalized under the Penal Code and is prohibited only under the Labour Law, which does not apply to domestic workers (CEDAW/C/OMN/CO/2-3, paras 30(h) and 39).

The Committee recalls that the sponsorship system creates a relationship in which migrant workers, including domestic workers, are dependent on their sponsors-employers, and that the work permit of this category of workers is linked to their sponsors. The Committee observes that such a system prevents migrant workers from freely terminating their employment and increases their risk of vulnerability to situations amounting to forced labour. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure that migrant workers, including migrant domestic workers are not exposed to practices that amount to forced labour. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the manner in which migrant workers, including migrant domestic workers, can exercise, in practice, their right to freely terminate their employment and to leave the country, so that they do not fall into abusive practices that may arise from the sponsorship system. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of migrant workers who have changed employer and whose work permits have been transferred to a new employer, including, if available, statistics disaggregated by gender, occupation and country of origin.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.