Oman legalises unions before U S trade pact vote

MUSCAT, July 9 (Reuters) Oman has legalised trade unions and strikes as part of labour law reforms announced before the U S Congress votes on a free trade agreement between the two countries.

Oman, a non-OPEC producer of oil and natural gas, signed a trade pact with the United States, which is pressing its allies in the Gulf Arab region to do more to protect the rights of workers, mostly low-wage labour from Asia.

Oman's reforms could add to pressure on other states in the world's top oil exporting region, which are also negotiating trade pacts with Western countries.

The official Oman News Agency said Sultan Qaboos issued a decree late yesterday amending the labour code and local newspapers published details of the reforms today.

The decree allows workers to form trade unions to protect their rights and lobby for better working conditions. The unions will be independent and union representatives cannot be dismissed or punished for their role.

''The (labour) minister will issue a decision allowing collective bargaining to settle disputes and improve working conditions and qualifications, as well as peaceful strikes and shut downs,'' al-Watan daily quoted the decree as saying.

The sultanate has a population of about 3 million and foreigners make up about 75 per cent of the private sector work force.

Washington has been urging Gulf states to amend worker rights laws to conform to International Labour Organisation standards, to qualify for free trade pacts.

The U S Senate approved the trade pact with Oman late last month.

A vote by the full U S House of Representative is due this month on the pact, designed to boost bilateral trade which stood at about one billion dollars in 2005.

Oman's neighbour, the United Arab Emirates, is seeking a free trade pact with the United States. The UAE has said it is amending its labour laws but that it is not willing to make any political concessions to secure the agreement.

Labour rights were also a stumbling block in Washington's free trade talks with Qatar, with Doha freezing negotiations in April and saying the United States needed to be more flexible.

REUTERS PKS BST1605