Muscat: Oman’s minister of manpower Shaikh Abdullah Al Bakri on Sunday issued a decision banning the issuance of new visas for workers in 87 professions in the private sector for six months. The decision states: “The decision temporarily prohibits hiring of expatriate manpower in private sector establishments for six months. Work permits issued before the date of implementation of this decision are exempted.”
The jobs that will be impacted include those in media, airlines, accounting, management, medical, information systems and insurance sectors.
Last week, Oman’s Council of Ministers said it was following up on the implementation of plans to provide 25,000 jobs to Omani nationals in various sectors in the next six months.
“The Council of Ministers is closely monitoring the progress of employment procedures on a weekly basis in order to get first-hand knowledge of what has been achieved and deal with any challenges that might obstruct implementation of plans,” a statement issued by the council said.
Sayyid Fahd Bin Mahmoud Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers, said providing employment to Omanis is a national duty. He pointed out that Oman’s economy is capable of rising to the challenge but this requires the regularisation of the labour market. “The government is working hard to achieve [its aims] so that the labour market can handle the requirements of each stage of development ...”, he said.
