Source: Department of Statistics and Information of the Ministry of Health

The recommendation contained in paragraph 40

The Committee, in line with its general recommendation No. 26 (2008) on women migrant workers, recommends that the State party:

(b)Extend the application of the Labour Law to domestic workers and adopt a specific law regulating domestic employment, with adequate sanctions for employers engaging in abusive practices.

Owing to the special nature of the relationship between domestic workers and their employers and the nature of the work that they do in the home, the law considers them to be family members. These workers are therefore not subject to the provisions of the Labour Code. The Ministry of Manpower is currently drafting a bill to regulate the work of domestic workers and those performing similar functions, taking into account the above-mentioned considerations.

The Ministry of Manpower is developing pamphlets and handbooks in 22 languages that will provide non-Omani workers, including domestic workers, with general guidance upon their arrival in Oman. Those publications will be distributed to expatriate workers in Oman, in order to provide them with adequate information about their rights and access to care and protection, as well as advice on compliance with labour contracts and the law, so as to protect them from being abused and trafficked. In addition, they will be told how they can contact the competent authorities in the event of any violation of their rights.

The Ministry of Manpower offers an electronic labour complaint system in order to make the process easier for female workers who cannot present themselves at the Ministry.

Awareness-raising services are available to workers and employers. In the period 2017 to 2019, the Ministry of Manpower conducted several awareness-raising programmes.

Individual and group awareness-raising programmes organized by the Ministry of Manpower in 2017

Individual awareness-raising		Group awareness-raising
Individual awareness-raising		Participants	Group awareness-raising		Participants
Males	Females	Males	Females
1 , 054	855	199	31	402	198
6 , 100 text messages were sent.

Source: Directorate General of Labour Welfare, Ministry of Manpower

Individual and group awareness-raising programmes organized by the Ministry of Manpower in 2018

Individual awareness-raising		Group awareness-raising
Individual awareness-raising		Participants	Group awareness-raising		Participants
Males	Females	Males	Females
1,100	821	279	28	430	173

Source: Directorate General of Labour Welfare, Ministry of Manpower

Individual and group awareness-raising programmes organized by the Ministry of Manpower from January to June 2019

Individual awareness-raising		Group awareness-raising
Individual awareness-raising		Participants	Group awareness-raising		Participants
Males	Females	Males	Females
695	548	147	55	584	210

Source: Directorate General of Labour Welfare, Ministry of Manpower

A committee consisting of several specialists from the Ministry and specialists from the relevant government agencies has been formed. This committee holds regular meetings with the embassies of countries that are sources of migrant labour, with a view to ensuring that the rights and duties of workers are understood and appropriate solutions that preserve their rights are developed.

On 16 October 2017, the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking launched the Ihsan campaign to spread awareness about the position of the law vis-à-vis human trafficking. This three-month campaign aimed at educating workers about their rights was marked by awareness-raising announcements in several foreign languages.