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Muscat: The next phase of the government labour programme includes enforcing new regulations to curb hidden ownership in businesses and monitor those who lay off workers.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Bakri, Minister of Manpower, said that the government will stand alongside Omani entrepreneurs who run their own businesses, rather than having expatriates as the actual managers.

"There is no change in the date of application of the 'two-year ban' on the return of expat workers to Oman. It came into effect on July 1" said Al Bakri.

Al Bakri added that the Ministry of Manpower has completed a review of data and information about the expatriate workforce and those in-charge of laying off workers, especially owners who have more than one registered business. "Those who violate the regulations, in this regard, have been notified to reconcile their conditions regarding the number of registered businesses they own. Those who did not respond were referred to the Public Prosecution", said Al Bakri.

Al Bakri pointed out that the Ministry of Manpower has linked its data with other government authorities to limit such violations, as well as to reduce the percentage of expatriate workers to 33 per cent, instead of the current 44 per cent.

"The order to cut down the number of expatriates to 33 per cent came from the higher authorities," noted Al Bakri.

With the support that SMEs receive from the government, the plan is to eliminate hidden businesses, Al Bakri said, adding the urgent need to change the dynamics of the labour market to provide quality jobs for Omani citizens.

Al Bakri also stressed the importance of achieving stability in the private sector workforce in the next stage of the government labour programme.

"It's time to change the dynamics of the labour market and the tools used therein, as well as to provide suitable job opportunities for Omanis in the construction sector, and the creation of opportunities for technical and vocational jobs that are commensurate with their abilities and qualifications," said Al Bakri.

The total strength of the workers in the private sector as of May last, stood at 1,767,067 in 150,566 companies. Among those, the number of Omanis was 215,052, while the number of expatriates stood at 1,552,015.

Regarding the educational qualifications, Al Bakri said that 941,965 expatriates have qualifications lower than General Diploma, compared to 107,479 Omanis with the equivalent education.

Also, the number of expatriates who have higher educational qualifications stood at 123,968 compared to 15,906 Omanis.

Further, the Muscat governorate was host to the largest expatriate workforce, with 620,941 workers. As Muscat is the commercial centre of the Sultanate, many projects and development investments require the presence of expat workers.

Muscat was followed by North Batinah, with 168,333 expatriate workers, while Dhofar was in third place with 165,813 workers.

Interestingly, 83,000 Omanis resigned from private sector jobs between January 2013 and May 2014. The largest number of 431,356 expatriate workers exists in grade four companies.
Moreover, more than 51,000 expatriates work as managers in the private sector. The Omanisation level in private companies varies from 6.2 per cent to 21.4 per cent.

Al Bakri revealed that one Omani has more than 230 companies, run by expatriates with more than 500 non-Omani workers.

This business also has no central location accounting for its profits earned each month, which is the most common type of hidden trade.

Al Bakri's comments came during a Ramadan night event for Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry members, hosted by the minister.

To get in touch with the reporter fahad@timesofoman.com