At the end of July 2023, Arabian Business reported that Oman has announced a new labour law that stops employers from withholding migrant workers’ passports without written consent.

A later article released my Migrant-Rights.Org in August 2023 outlines the planned changes to Oman’s labour laws in greater detail. It summarises the key provisions of the new law, including shorter working hours and increased sick leave; longer fixed term contracts; allowing workers to leave employment following unpaid wages for two consecutive months; prohibition of passport confiscation without written consent; employer responsibility for migrant worker repatriation; new regulations on arbitrary dismissal, new rights for unions and union members; and, prohibiting advertising for workers based on categories such as race or religion, among other measures.

The article outlines some limitations to the new regulations, including a lack of regulation on domestic work; safeguarding against discrimination only in regards to termination; a lack of protections relating to workplace harassment; a lack of clarity on job transfers for migrants; and a lack of enforcement of labour laws in the country. The article calls for greater reform of the Kafala system to eradicate the power-differential between employers and migrant workers.