OCCI recommends review of work permit fees for expat workers

Muscat: The Ministry of Labour's decision No. 12/2021 regarding the new fees for work permits for the expat workers in high level, middle, technical and specialised professions needs to be reviewed and further studied to enhance the partnership between the public and private sectors, the Chairman of Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), said.

The OCCI hosted a number of ministers concerned with economic affairs, including His Excellency Dr. Said bin Mohammed Al Saqri, Minister of Economy, and H.E. Qais bin Mohammed al-Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, H.E. Dr. Mahad bin Said bin Ali Ba'owain, Minister of Labour, H.E. Sheikh Nasr bin Amer Al Hosani, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labour, and H.E. Dr. Saleh bin Saeed Masan, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Investment Promotion for Commerce and Industry, and in the presence of H.E. Engineer Ridha Bin Juma Al Saleh, Chairman of the Chamber’s Board of Directors.

H.E. Engineer Ridha Bin Juma Al Saleh, Chairman of the Board of Directors, OCCI, said: "We appreciate the high directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik to employ 32,000 citizens in the public and private sectors during the current year, which is important to translate them in reality and work to reduce the number of job seekers in order to preserve the sustainability of overall national development, and we are pleased to emphasise the support of the Chamber and the private sector to support the directions of the government sector in providing job opportunities."

"The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the national economy is not hidden, with a decline in GDP by 15 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019, as well as the impact of the pandemic on small and medium-sized enterprises, where the activity of many businesses and others was closed due to losses, and many national cadres working in the private sector lost their jobs, which led to an increase in the number of job seekers, affecting the growth of the national economy and stability."

He added, "We all know that there are many companies and SMEs that have stumbled in light of the continuing repercussions of the pandemic, and there is a committee by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion that follows up on the troubled institutions. We hope that the instructions put in place will be easy to apply to commercial banks, in addition to the importance of taking into account these institutions when applying incentives, and we hope that the implementation of these decisions will be taken into account by the courts under the current circumstances."