Oman labour complaints portal now in English

Muscat: Complaints registered through the online portal provided by the Ministry of Manpower are expected to rise in the coming days as an online platform to lodge labour complaints is now available in English.
A senior official from the Ministry of Manpower confirmed that the portal is now available in English, opening a wide platform for nationals and expats working in the private sector to lodge their complaints easily.
“The ministry started with Muscat as most of the complaints are recorded in Muscat. However, the ministry is working now to open the portal for private sector workers across the Sultanate,” said Sulaiman Al Khalili, who works in the Media Department at the Ministry of Manpower.
Since June 1 and for 45 days only, hundreds of labourers have flooded the online complaints portal, with the Ministry of Manpower’s records showing that 512 people had reported complaints despite it only being accessible in Arabic.
A further 28 people had reported abuse that they claimed to have witnessed at the workplace.
Read also: Oman's labour complaint site flooded
From the first of August, the ministry has announced that all labour complaints should be filed through the online portal in Muscat.
Once a complaint is received, the ministry will contact the complainant through their mobile number and email address, text messages and sends mails to tell them where and when they can meet the ministry and their employer to resolve the issue.
The e-service includes filing labour complaints, follow-ups on the status of registered complaints, complaints about private sector establishments violating labour laws, as well as filing complaints about violating the rights of labourers.
Further, nationals holding old ID cards, and expats with old resident cards, must renew these cards to obtain PKI-enabled cards, which will allow them to use the e-services offered by the ministry.
Muscat-based social workers praised the new service, but said it will be more helpful to workers now as the English language has been added to the portal.