Oman bans companies from holding staff passports
Employers will no longer be permitted
to hold passports of expatriate employees in Oman.
Muscat: Oman has declared it illegal to hold passports of expatriate employees.
Shaikh Abdullah Bin Nasir Al Bakri, Oman's Manpower Minister, and Mohammed Bin
Abdullah Al Riyami, Chairman of the National Commission for Human Rights
(NCHR), reviewed means to protect human rights in the country while enforcing
the labour laws.
According to an ONA report the two also discussed Ministry's (manpower) role in
issuing relevant legislations and regulations that would ensure labour rights,
specifically in the private sector.
The meeting also touched on promulgation of the country's General Trade Union
and 72 trade unions representing employees in the private sector.
The two also conferred about the need for regulations regarding safety and
occupational health regulations for the protection of employees against
injuries and disease.
They also dealt with drafting new regulations for foreign manpower recruiting
agencies, procedures pursued by the ministry for regulation of labour market
and allowing the overstaying expatriates to finally leave Oman by end of
September without paying any fees or penalties.
The meeting also focused on the International Labour Agreement on declaration
of labour principles and basic rights issued by the International Labour
Organisations (ILO) such as the Conventions on Forced Labour, Minimum Age for
Employment and Convention on Child Labour Abuse Ban and Convention on Abolition
of Forced Labour.
It also viewed the ministry's awareness campaign for employees working in the
private sector on their rights and obligations.
Source
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/oman/oman-bans-companies-from-holding-staff-passports-1.638293
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