What are main issues of expats in Oman handled by OHRC?

The few complaints handled by the Oman Human Rights Commission (OHRC) related to monthly wages, transfer to a new employer, passport recovery, and the provision of travel tickets. It managed to resolve some of them by talking to the concerned stakeholders.

On January 22, 2024, OHRC received a complaint from a domestic worker regarding the employer's refusal to hand over her passport and personal belongings so that she could return to her country. The Monitoring and Complaints Department subsequently contacted the employer, and the worker was able to get back her passport, receive her monthly salary, and return to her home country.

On April 24, 2024, the Monitoring and Complaints Department settled two complaints it received from two female workers. (One of them refused to renew her employment contract with her employer, and the other was denied her monthly wages. This enabled the two workers to obtain their monthly wage rights, retrieve their passports, and provide them with tickets to return to their home country.

In another context, in May 2024, OHRC received two complaints regarding workers. One related to her request to receive her monthly wages and return to her home country, and the other requested to transfer her work residency to a new employer due to the previous employer's failure to pay her monthly wages.

Following this, and after investigation and research, it became clear that the two workers had not received their monthly wages. The employer was summoned regarding the request to transfer the worker to another employer, and the matter was settled by paying the monthly wages and transferring the worker to a new employer. The other worker was enabled to return to her home country after receiving all the necessary documents and monthly wages.

On June 11, 2024, OHRC received a complaint from a domestic worker from the sub-continent who was placed in a shelter affiliated with the Ministry of Labor based on a notice of abstention from the employer, despite the latter handing the worker over to the domestic worker recruitment office. This occurred due to a financial dispute between the employer and the domestic worker recruitment office.

OHRC contacted the Ministry of Labor, and the worker was released. The worker was also informed of the procedures for filing a compensation claim for damages resulting from the harmful act committed against her.

On July 17, 2024, OHRC received a complaint from an Indian worker stating that he worked for a company and that his employment contract was still valid.

He wished to transfer his services from his current workplace to another branch of the company, but the employer rejected his request and suspended him.

The Monitoring and Complaints Department immediately contacted the company's management, and the worker was reinstated and began working at the branch to which he wished to transfer.

The committee received a complaint from an Indian worker, stating that he worked as a travel agent for a company.

However, after two months of work with the company, he was subjected to mistreatment by his employer, who denied him his monthly salary and threatened to deport him to his country.

He requested assistance in receiving his monthly salary and enabling him to transfer his residency to another employer.

The Monitoring and Complaints Department contacted the employer, and the worker's case was settled, with him receiving all his monthly dues and transferring his residency to another company.

The committee received a complaint from a woman, stating that she had been working in a private clinic as a radiology technician, but that her employment contract had expired some time ago.

She informed her employer of her unwillingness to renew the contract and to allow her to return to her country, in addition to not paying her overdue salaries.

However, the employer refused to terminate her services, hand over her passport, or provide her with a return ticket, claiming that he wanted to renew the employment contract.

The employer did not do so.

OHRC received a complaint from a Bangladeshi worker on October 10, 2024, stating that he worked for a company as a public building cleaner, but that his contract had expired some time ago. He had informed the employer that he did not wish to renew the contract and that he was unable to do so.

The worker's request to return to his country was rejected, but the employer refused to terminate his services, return his passport, or provide him with a return ticket. He claimed that he wanted to renew his employment contract and that he had not received his overdue salaries. OHRC contacted the employer, and the worker's passport was returned, a return ticket was provided, and all his financial dues were paid.