Wednesday 24 / April / 2024
Muscat: Around 90,000 citizens have taken employment tests for the first time while 9,500 received the job security grant, according to Dr Mahad bin Said bin Ali Ba’owain, the Minister of Labour.
The number of job opportunities this year is almost equivalent to employment generation during the last six or seven years, and the coming year 2022 will be promising despite all the challenges, said the Minister of Labour.
In a statement to Oman Radio, the Minister of Labour said that the ministry has exceeded its target of job opportunities this year, stressing that the number of job opportunities so far is equivalent to the employment generated in the last six or seven years. The annual employment generation was between 5,000 and 6,000 in the past, he said. The minister added that the coming year will be promising despite all the challenges, as it is expected that the social protection system, the labour law, and the public service law will be completed.
He added that only those who did not get employment are questioning the job drive but it is fair to look around and see how many of them have got jobs. The ministry has also published the names of the first batch of appointees in August.
He said that about 16,000 employed citizens have applied for the latest job advertisement, adding that the replacement opportunities in the sectors subject to the civil service amounted to 20,000, and a good number were replaced this year.
About 13,000 opportunities remain that require rehabilitation and training for a longer period due to the specialised nature of these jobs, he said.
The Minister of Labour explained that restricting some jobs for males or females only depends on the circumstances and that the ministry is trying to give everyone an equal chance.
On the fate of the retirees who were waiting for 2011 promotion and were referred for retirement, he said, “The legal dimension does not concern me in this part, but it is possible to study their legal status, and if they are entitled to, they will be included.”
He said that there are no indications of referring those who have completed 30 years of service to retirement this year.
He also confirmed that promotion in the new system is for those who are good at work, but this system requires time to get an appropriate evaluation. It would be about three years before the system starts benefiting from it. In the next 2-3 years solutions will be found for the accumulated promotions.
Regarding the hike in fees for bringing in expatriate workers, he indicated that raising fees is one of the most important goals to liberalise the market, and the employer has the option to hire an Omani or an expatriate, and the number of workers affected by raising fees is about 200,000 out of 1.4 million in the labour market.
He stressed that the raised fees is not for all expatriates workers, but for specific professions with high salaries, and whoever can give a high salary can pay high fees that will be used to train and employ an Omani.
Regarding the need for a Gulf work passport, the Minister of Labour said, “There is no need for a unified Gulf work permit because Gulf nationals are treated as equal citizens without any discrimination.”
