Friday 26 / April / 2024
Muscat: A total of 811 expatriate workers were arrested in the Governorates of A'Dhakiliyah and Al Wusta during the first three months of 2019, according to the Ministry of Manpower.
The ministry revealed that the arrests were the result of “The joint inspection team's effort to intensifies inspections of private sector facilities."
During the first quarter of 2019, 94 establishments in the Governorates of A'Dhakiliyah and Al Wusta were inspected by the joint committee which was led by the Royal Oman Police command.
Faris Al Roushdi, assistant director general of the directorate general of manpower in the A' Dhakiliyah Governorate, said "Through the inspection campaigns, 811 expatriate labourers were arrested, including 309 workers who fled their workplaces and 448 workers who were dismissed by their employers
"The arrested individuals also include 31 expats who were in violation of the ministerial decisions and 23 expatriate labourers in violators of their profession."
He went on to say: "The inspection team also deported 444 of the arrested labour force during the first quarter of this year."
According to Al Roushdi, businesses that care of the needs of women were also followed up with by the female members of the inspection team to ensure the commitment of these shops to implement the labour law and ministerial decisions.
Al-Roushdi said that the office of the joint inspection team in the governorate receives reports through citizens and residents, and also through the hotline setup in the ministry, as well as from some tips from government bodies that required following-up.
"The intensification of raids will reduce the phenomenon of runaway expat labour workers," Al Roushdi said. He also called on companies to avoid hiring runaway to freelance workers.
