Efforts to streamline labour market will continue: Omani Authorities

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Directives mandate that the Inspection Unit of the Security and Safety Institution conduct supervisory inspections to ensure compliance with government decisions regarding Omanisation percentages and prohibited professions for non-Omani workers

The Sultanate of Oman will continue to regulate the foreign workforce and streamline the labour market in an effort to employ more citizens, according to the authorities.

Previously, in an attempt to combat illegal labour, the Security and Safety Institution (SSI) announced that it had apprehended nearly 12,000 illegal workers in the past eight months, with 9,700 of them deported for violating labour laws.

The authority has launched awareness campaigns in various Asian languages, including Urdu, Hindi, and Malayalam, with plans to expand to other languages to educate as many people and organisations as possible.

As part of the ongoing initiative, the Security and Safety Institution is conducting awareness campaigns for individuals and organisations in multiple languages to minimise violations, said Retired Brigadier General (Rtd) Said bin Sulaiman al Asmi, CEO of SSI.

"The dedicated Inspection Unit, established under the SSI to ensure compliance with labour laws, will continue to conduct inspections and monitor visits to Omanised professions for all activities to uphold governance in line with Omanisation policy," Al Asmi stated.

The unit has been granted judicial police powers to enhance enforcement capabilities and is focused on enforcing Omanisation rates and limiting expats in certain professions.

"Granting the institution the trust by Royal Decree No 18/2024 provided the status of judicial police to some employees of the inspection unit. This is a major addition to the institution's work to activate the labour inspection system to ensure that all parties are committed to implementing government decisions related to Omanised professions and the established Omanisation rates," he added.