Oman has finalized the labor agreement with Nepal and sent it to the Nepalese government.

The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security has confirmed that it has received the labor agreement sent by Oman. ‘Oman has sent the draft we sent as being correct. We are preparing to send it to the Council of Ministers for approval,’ Labor Ministry Spokesperson Pitambar Ghimire told Kantipur.

The ministry has stated that after the approval from the Council of Ministers, it will designate a responsible officer to sign with its counterpart.

Prime Minister Sushila Karki has now taken charge of the Labor Ministry. The responsibility to sign the agreement on behalf of Nepal will be assigned to one of the ministers, secretaries or the Nepalese ambassador to Oman.

The initial draft of the labor agreement between Nepal and Oman was finalized five years ago.

Nepal finalized the first draft of the labor agreement with Oman at a high-level technical meeting held in Kathmandu on May 5, 2019. After that, homework was continuously being done on this issue. During this period, Oman has also improved the labor law and residence law related to foreign workers. These issues are expected to be included in the agreement.

In the high-level technical meeting, both sides agreed in principle on the provision that the employing company will take workers at zero cost.

The Foreign Residence Law, which came into effect from January 1, 2021, allows migrant workers to freely change employers. Then, the new labor law, which came into effect from July 31, 2023, has made it possible to work only 40 hours a week, make it mandatory for workers to rest for one hour daily, and increase annual sick leave from 70 days to 182 days.

There is also a provision that the worker can change employers if the employer does not pay wages for two consecutive months.

There is a legal provision that the employer cannot keep the worker's passport or personal documents.

Oman has also implemented a new social security law and a mandatory health insurance scheme.

The Ministry of Labor has set a process to resolve labor disputes by mediating within 30 days and sending the case to court within a week if it is not resolved through mediation within 30 days. All these issues have been included in the agreement.

According to the data of the Department of Foreign Employment, 60,000 Nepalis have gone to work in the last 10 years. Out of which, about 25,000 Nepalis are working.

According to DB Chhetri, former vice president of the Non-Resident Nepali Association, who has been working in Oman for two decades, Nepali workers are missing out on opportunities due to the lack of a labor agreement.