Follow labour law or face the consequences

Energy Saturday 21/September/2019 20:14 PM
By: Times News Service

Muscat: Private institutions that fail to obey the Ministry of Manpower’s rules need to fix them within a certain period, or risk facing the consequences, the Manpower Ministry’s Director General of Labour Welfare said.
In an exclusive interview with Times of Oman, Salim Al Badi said, “The Ministry carries out a comprehensive inspection of all private institutions at least once a year in order to update data and evaluate the establishment’s status towards compliance with Omani Labour Law and the Ministerial Decisions.
“If the institution is found to be noncompliant with the law, they will be asked to correct their situation within a specified
period, and then they will be re-inspected.”
“The Ministry also conducts inspections in the event of a report or complaint against the institution, owing to allegations of violation of a law or the existence of a phenomenon that adversely affects the productivity and progress of work in institutions.
“Here, the inspector visits the institution to check the conditions of its employees by discussing the complaints with the employer to verify the points raised, identify its reasons and assist in the resolution of the problem within the constraints of the law and submit a report on what has been done in that regard,” he added.
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Al Badi’s comments came after more than 800 private companies were found to have violated the Labour Law in 2018 — an 89 per cent increase in the number of violations over the previous year — following inspections by teams from the Ministry of Manpower.
According to the annual report issued by the ministry, inspection teams from the ministry visited 7,672 institutions in 2018, which resulted in them uncovering 843 violations, compared to just 446 in 2017.
This came after the ministry increased the number of inspections carried out, in an attempt to ensure that private companies were adhering to the standards set by the government.
The ministry’s inspections included several criteria for companies to adhere to, including an assessment of the institution’s commitment to the Labour Law regulation with regard to the employment status of the national and expatriate workforce, in terms of employee working hours, vacations, rest time and the payment of wages to employees at regularly scheduled times, in addition to ensuring that the establishment adheres to the provisions of the Labour Law and provides protection for workers by offering safety and health requirements.
Al Badi continued, “After confirming the violation, procedures described in the form prepared for this purpose shall be taken according to a certain protocol, starting with providing tips and guidance to the company in terms of how to solve the problem as a first step. The issuance of a written warning is the second step, with the third step being to secure a written report over the violation. As a final step, the establishment will be referred to the judiciary for legal action.”
“The company that complies with the provisions of the Labour Law and Ministerial Decisions, shall be granted a distinctive treatment card. The ministry has designated a department called the Good Treatment Department which shall work to complete and finish the transactions of these establishments quickly, and provide them with the necessary facilities and coordination with other departments to finish the transactions of those establishments without delay,” he said.