NOC should stay: Oman govt poll result

Muscat: A majority of Oman residents have shown their support for the No Objection Certificate (NOC) regulation in two government unit polls posted last week.
Voting has closed on the week long Arabic language poll that asked residents in Oman whether they agree, or disagree with removing the (NOC) regulation.
The government's Implementation Support and Follow-Up Unit (ISFU), launched two public polls via social media last week, seeking opinions from residents in Oman.
Results of the Arabic poll indicate that a majority of residents "disagree" with removing the (NOC) guideline, at 62 per cent. Only 32 per cent of voters "agree" with removing the regulation, while 6 per cent were unsure.
7,117 votes were cast on the Arabic poll, while the English language poll received almost 28,000 votes as of Tuesday evening.
The English poll will close on Wednesday evening, and has received 27,932 votes so far.
As of Tuesday evening, the English poll shows that 57 per cent of voters "agree" with the regulation, while 41 per cent 'disagree' with the regulation, and two per cent are unsure.
Both polls received around 400 comments debating the topic, with conflicting comments regarding the measure, and solutions that would find middle ground with regards to amending NOCs.
The ISFU also posted an infographic online with a definition of the NOC, and arguments for and against the regulation.
"Some business owners believe that NOCs lead to restrictive movement of workers, and decrease their productivity, and therefore lead to barriers in front of business with regards to attracting talent from world markets, while others see that NOCs protect trade and client secrets, and therefore the NOC is considered positive in their work," the infographic stated.
In 2014, Omani authorities implemented a two-year ban for expatriates, if they fail to acquire a No Objection Certificate from their current employer in order to switch sponsorship to a different employer in the Sultanate.
Without the NOC, expats have to leave the country and cannot return for a period of two years. According to government officials, the rule was implemented to stop expatriates switching jobs and joining competing firms.
The Implementation Support and Follow Up-Unit has been conducting meetings with different Tanfeedh initiative teams, in order to evaluate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and find solutions for the challenges that face the Tanfeedh teams.
Tanfeedh, the government think tank charting the economic future of Oman, held a series of 'labs' last year where experts from the public and private sectors brainstormed for six weeks to come up with solutions for the Sultanate's economy.
The Labour lab, headed by Shahswar Al Balushi, had drawn up proposals around the NOC regulation to make it fairer to both employers and employees.
The polls can be accessed through the following links:
Arabic: https://twitter.com/ISFUOman/status/877240714861707271
English: https://twitter.com/ISFUOman/status/877592349681078273