MUSCAT: Oman has raised the minimum wage for nationals working in the private sector from $364 to $520, as protests sparked by unemployment and poverty spread to several Arab countries. The cabinet has "decided to raise the minimum wages for national workers in the private sector to 200 riyals per month" on the orders of Sultan Qaboos, state news agency ONA said. Before the raise, the minimum salaries in the small non-OPEC producer were 140 riyals ($364). From a population of 1.96 million Omanis, 150,000 are employed in the private sector. A popular revolt in Tunisia led to the fall in mid-January of its longtime president Zine El-Abidine Bin Ali. As similar protests followed in several Arab states, Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak was toppled last week. Protests have also spread to Bahrain, a partner of Oman in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council. Last Friday, Bahrain's king ordered that each family in his country be given $3,000 to mark the 10th anniversary of a national charter for reforms. – Agence France
