Muscat: The Ministry of Manpower (MoM), in a decision made Sunday, has allowed some companies to hire expatriate workers provided that they meet a set of criteria outlined for the sector.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser al Bakri, Minister of Manpower, issued decision 127/2020 regulating the recruitment of expatriate workers for the construction sector and brick factories. The exception is made to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) who are full-time employers and are registered with the Public Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Development and insured with the Public Authority for Social Insurance.
The Ministry also clarified that excluded from this decision are the establishments managing government projects, Excellent grade companies and firms that employ 100 or more workers.
Article 2 of the decision outlined that the employer must submit the following documents through the electronic licensing system in the Ministry of Manpower: a copy of the municipal license and the lease agreement; a copy of the agreement to implement construction work provided that it includes the duration, work to be executed, and the value and that the agreement is translated into Arabic from an accredited translation office in the Sultanate if it is written in another language and; a copy of the project implementation order if the agreement is related to the implementation of a government project.
Article 3 stated that the employer shall be committed to the Omanisation percentages established in the facility, as follows:
The Omanisation percentage should not be less than 10 percent for establishments in which the number of expatriates is 99 workers or less, the Omanisation percentage should not be less than 12 percent for the establishments in which the number of non-Omani manpower is restricted by more than 99 workers, appointing an engineer or technician, depending on the number of the non-Omani workforce, the absence of labor violations in the facility or expired work permits and the employer has paid all his fees.
If any institution operating in construction in the private sector wanted to recruit a non-Omani worker for an engineer or technician profession, it must also appoint an Omani in the same professions with the same number to get the license.
The same conditions apply for the recruitment of expatriates in brick factories.
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