MUSCAT, May 8 - The government has decided to come down the big way on illegal employment of expatriates, which poses a serious threat to the national economy. In the latest crackdown as part of the efforts to regulate the job market, the Directorate-General of Labour Welfare at the Ministry of Manpower referred two citizens to the Public Prosecution for similar labour law violations. These two citizens owned 88 commercial records with 1,302 expatriate workers in the payroll. The ministry said it was found during inspection visits that the citizens allowed their expatriate employees to illegally work for others.
In reality, these expatriates were left without work by their actual employer, making them vulnerable to human trafficking and illegal exploitation.
In violation of the provisions of the Labour Law and ministerial decisions, the ministry has stopped dealing with these establishments and referred the matter to the Public Prosecution for legal action.
Recently, the primary court in Salalah sentenced an Omani citizen to three years in jail and a fine of RO 139,000 after he was found guilty of violating the provisions governing expatriate labour force in the private sector.
Similarly, the Ministry of Manpower earlier referred five citizens to the Public Prosecution in Salalah after it had been ascertained that each one of them owned over 100 commercial registers with a total number of 2,816 expat workers of whom 1,560 workers carry expired resident cards and have no work address.
As per Article 18 of the Labour Law, an employer shall not allow any expatriate worker, under his sponsorship, to work for another person.
The employer is also not allowed to employ an expatriate worker in any profession other than what is mentioned in the permit.
According to experts, one of the most important problems facing economic planners and decision-makers is the difficulty in quantifying the number of people working without a licence and its impact on the national economy.
Absence of laws may lead to the inability of economic planners to develop good and effective policies because the hidden trade leads to the flow of funds outside the Sultanate, thereby impeding the programmes of growth and development in society, experts said.
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