Expat workers stranded in Sohar will get NOC, company says

Muscat: Stranded workers in Sohar will get No Objection Certificates (NOCs), an official from the company that failed to pay them for months said on Monday.
Read here: Stranded workers get help, say 'Thank you Oman'
“Actually, we are in the process of giving NOC to workers and the Ministry of Manpower (MoM) are discussing with the immigration authorities to work this out,” the official from the Sohar company told the Times of Oman.
Get your essential daily briefing delivered direct to your email inbox with our e-newsletter
Some 800 workers were left unpaid for months and complained to the ministry and the Indian Embassy to help. Workers said they were about to be kicked out of their lodgings and were forced to exist on basic white rice as the company had failed to pay salaries since April.
In 2014, Omani authorities implemented a two-year ban for expatriates, wherein they were bound to acquire an NOC from their current employer in order to switch sponsorship to a different employer in the Sultanate. The letter meant the current employer would not object to the employee switching jobs inside Oman.
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.
Workers at the company also confirmed that they have been promised NOCs so that they can stay and work in Oman. “The Indian Embassy and Ministry of Manpower is working very hard so that we can get an NOC as soon as possible and join other companies,” a worker said, adding that they may start getting the NOCs from the company as early as this week.
Two or three companies have already come down and have interviewed a lot of people. They have shown interest in hiring about 70 to 80 employees. “We heard more construction companies are coming this week so we are hopeful that we will all be able to find a job here,” the worker said.
Indian Embassy staff in Muscat has also approached companies in Oman so that the workers can get jobs.
In the letter sent to companies, Indra Mani Pandey, India’s ambassador to Oman, said: “Around 800 workers are facing the prospect of returning to India as the company has ceased its operations. Most of them have experience of working here up to 12 years and they are competent and qualified to take up different kinds of assignments.”
“The Ministry of Manpower is prepared to arrange NOCs from the sponsor immediately after they are able to secure another job in Oman. I write to request you to consider recruiting them in case you are in need of qualified and experienced workers. This will save you the hassle of going through the process of fresh recruitment from India.”
Workers at the company said officials at the Embassy had collected the details of the employees. “Workers were also given some money and possible options were discussed. One of them was to grant the workers with No Objection Certificates (NOCs) so that they can work in Oman. While some wanted to return to India, a section wanted to stay in Oman to look for other jobs here at their own expense,” one worker added.