Oman's Ministry of Manpower (MoM) on Sunday issued a decision for banning issuance of new visas for workers in 87 professions in the private sector for six months. The decision (No 38/2018) was issued by Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Abdullah al Bakri, Minister of Manpower.
In the decision, Article (1) states, “The decision temporarily prohibits hiring of expatriate manpower in private sector establishments for six months. Work permits issued before the date of implementation of this decision are exempted.
Article 2 states, “This decision will not apply to establishments owned by full-time employers for their administration, registered with Riyada and insured by the Public Authority for Social Insurance.”
The decision comes on the heels of the Council of Ministers statement, issued last week regarding the job market. “The Council of Ministers is following up, with full attention, the execution of the decision on providing 25,000 jobs for the national manpower in all specialisations so that the target could be achieved within a period not exceeding six months as a first step.
“Accordingly, the Council of Ministers is closely monitoring the progress of employment procedures on a weekly basis in order to have first-hand knowledge of what has been achieved and deal with any challenges that might obstruct implementation.”
Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmood al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers, said that the employment of sons and daughters in all fields of work is a national duty that must be advanced by all means, noting that constant attention is being accorded to this objective by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
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Sayyid Fahd said that economic aspects are not the main hurdle, but it (the challenge) is the regularisation of the job market, which the government is working hard to achieve so that it could handle the requirements of each stage of development.
Sayyid Fahd commended the excellent level of Omani youth and their aspirations, hoping that all executing parties will cooperate to facilitate the accomplishment of the mission towards the realisation of this goal to let every citizen savour the bounties of this generous, resourceful country.
