Civil service sector employs 174,107

MUSCAT, APRIL 21 - The percentage of Omanisation in the civil service sector has reached 87.5 per cent, growing from a mere 1,750 employees in 1970 to a massive 174,107 in 2018. While the Ministry of Education is the largest job provider with 82,010 employees, it is followed by the Ministry of Health with 39,141, and the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs with 7,328 employees. This was disclosed by Shaikh Khalid bin Omar al Marhoon, Minister of Civil Service, during discussion on the civil service status in the Sultanate at the 12th regular session of the Majlis Ash’shura on Sunday. According to him, men outnumber women in various positions in 39 government units with 51.6 per cent and 48.4 per cent, respectively. Most of the Omani employees in the civil service sector are in the age group of 30 and 40, of which 47.4 per cent of them have a Bachelor’s degree. With regard to appointment of expatriate employees, Shaikh Al Marhoon said: “The government is no longer taking them. On the contrary, the existing expatriate staff are being replaced by nationals.” Presently, the majority of 12.5 per cent expatriate workers in the civil service sector are employed in the medical and educational sectors, he added. One of the important decisions taken during the economic crisis was not to disturb the salary payments of the employees and instead go for a freeze on promotions. Responding to a query by a Majlis member, the minister said: “The issue of employees taking sick leaves is not that serious.” According to Shaikh Marhoon, the ministry also seeks to increase the percentage of opportunities available for people with special needs from one per cent to 2 per cent. The total number of people with special needs appointed by the end of 2018 stood at 509, while the number of vacancies for the same category from 2014 to 2018 is 146 positions. Shaikh Marhoon assured that joblessness is a universal issue, but even during challenging times, there have been recruitment in the special sectors such as the military, private sector and some government apparatus. On the policies and procedures adopted in the development of human resources, the minister clarified, “It is clear through the annual training plans for 2018 that a training proposal for 40,178 civil service employees has been approved.” At the same time, 39,053 employees attended training programmes in the Sultanate and 1,125 were sent abroad for training. In response to a query by a member during the session about any mechanism that measures the performance of employees in the public sector, the minister promised to study the “early retirement” suggestion as a solution to ‘crucial issues’.