Oman has signed an agreement with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to jointly develop a new decent work country programme (DWCP) in the sultanate.

The new programme will see the ILO continuing to work closely with the tripartite partners to bolster the national employment agenda and enhance access to decent work opportunities in the sultanate, and build on joint successes achieved during the DWCP 2014-2016 and before.

The MoU was signed by Oman’s Minister of Manpower Abdullah Al Bakri, Regional Director for Arab States Ruba Jaradat, the chairman of the general federation of Oman trade unions Nabhan Ahmed Al-Battashi, and the chairman of the board of directors of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry Said Saleh Al Kiyumi yesterday (June 9) on the sidelines of the 106th International Labour Conference in Geneva.

The MoU will pave the way for developing a DWCP for the period 2017-2019.

The new programme would “elevate the level of social dialogue amongst the social partners,” and “increase productivity and efficiency of the labour market,” remarked Al Bakri following the signing ceremony.

“We are honoured to enter into this new partnership with our tripartite partners in Oman, a state which has demonstrated its commitment to decent work since its accession to the ILO over two decades ago,” said Jaradat.

The new DWCP for Oman will focus on three priorities: employment, skills and entrepreneurship development; social protection; and international labour standards and labour governance, she stated.

DWCPs are the ILO’s main vehicle to work with government, worker and employer organizations on promoting the “decent work” agenda, by supporting national initiatives in the area of employment promotion, rights at work, social dialogue and social protection using a results-based approach.

The sultanate has ratified four of the ILO’s eight core conventions since its accession to the Organization in 1994. In June 2010, Oman became the second Gulf state to sign a DWCP after Bahrain adopted its programme in March of the same year.-TradeArabia News Service