Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Ban on expat recruitment extended

visa-stamping1
visa-stamping1
minus
plus

Muscat: The Ministry of Manpower on Sunday extended the ban on recruitment of foreign workers in some professions in the private sector. The Ministry said in a statement that it would extend the suspension for carpentry, metal, aluminium workshops and brick factories for six months.


“During the period of ban, private sector establishments are banned from recruiting foreign workers to the professions specified in Ministerial Decision No. 122/2014. The decision will continue for a period of six months from July 3, 2019," the statement said.


However, the ban will not apply to the existing visa holders. In a decision in the beginning of June, the ministry had placed a number of professions in sales, marketing and procurement and some in the construction sector under extended ban following its expiry.


In May this year, the government banned foreigners from being recruited to a number of managerial, administrative and clerical occupations. The positions include assistant general managers, administration mangers, director or manager of Human Resources, manager for employee affairs, training managers, follow-up managers, public relations managers and assistant director or managers.


According to figures from the ministry of manpower, around 27,000 Omanis were appointed in 2019 in the private sector, especially in construction, sales, distribution and industry. These sectors accounted for 58 per cent.


Meanwhile, figures from the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the number of expatriates in the construction sector plummeted by 12.9 per cent to reach 527,729 in April this year against 556,623 in the same month last year.


The total number of foreign workers in the Sultanate stood at 1.766.621 in April this year against 1.787,447, with a 3.8 per cent fall during the corresponding month last year. The NCSI figures show that the number of expat workers in the government and private sector fell by 3.5 and 4.7 per cent, respectively during the one-year period up to April this year.


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon