Muscat: The recent decision to raise fees for work permits of expatriates by the Ministry of Labour will negatively affect the local economy, the OCCI chairman said on Monday.
Eng Redha bin Juma al Saleh, chairman of the Board of Directors, OCCI, said that the decision will incur big losses to business owners, which will ultimately raise the cost of goods and services.
He also said that the current situation will lead companies in the local markets to shift elsewhere.
He said that changes in policies and procedures regulating workforce recruitment licenses need further study so that the OCCI can organize the labor market in line with future goals that will ensure the growth of the private sector and raise its productivity.
“We must be aware of the uneasy economic conditions following the lifting of subsidies on basic services, application of Value-Added Tax, effects of the decline in oil prices, repercussions of Covid pandemic that have led to huge losses in various economic sectors, which is continuing to date," he said.
It is necessary to encourage foreign and domestic investment, review laws and legislation regulating investment, and offer incentives and facilities to investors, which in turn will enhance job creation and job opportunities during the next phase, and contribute to advancing the development of the national economy. "With more and more youngsters graduating annually, the economy must be in a position to offer appropriate jobs for these jobseekers."
The participation of the private sector represented by the OCCI while preparing the labour Law is important to achieve a balance between the rules that regulate the labor market and ensure the rights and duties of the various production parties.
He stressed the importance of education and vocational training and refining the skills of young people through on-the-job training, and the importance of dialogue represented by the members of the Ministry of Labor, OCCI and the General Federation of Oman Workers (GFOW), especially to review the possible impact of various decisions on small and medium enterprises.
The current economic conditions require the authorities concerned to take into account these circumstances and help reduce the weight of the burden on the shoulders of the private sector. Under the circumstances, the increase in fees of work licenses should be postponed to the end of 2022 until the economic conditions improve.
Due to the lack of joint efforts, the private sector deposits that amount to RO15 billion are not effectively invested in productive projects and instead kept idle and unutilized.
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