The newly released Labour Law was established to encourage citizens to join the private sector, according to several government officials.
Last week, the Under-Secretary of Economy, Dr Nasser bin Rashid al Maawali, expressed that the new provisions in the law “will empower the private sector to lead economic growth and achieve the desired integration” while offering solutions to “empower the sector to overcome the challenges it faces.”
Maimuna Said al Sulaimani, Commercial Lawyer and Member of the Oman Human Rights Commission, a consulting body in the law drafting process, expressed a similar sentiment.
“In any society or state, the most sustainable employability is from the private sector and companies, not from government. The private sector has the potential of offering bigger opportunities and more flexible benefits,” she said.
The new provisions introduced a set of mandates to specific to citizens within the private sector.
These include requiring employers to develop employee retention plans, and to develop plans to appoint and train employees to occupy leadership positions within establishments with more than 25 employees according to Article 22.
Furthermore, the law will also require establishments to train their Omani employees “to develop their skills and efficiency.” It also requires employers to set up a human resources fund that will specialize in funding programs and policies for “employment, rehabilitation and empowerment” of workers in the private sector.
Al Sulaimani believes that the new provisions will enable recruitment and promotion based on merit while simultaneously offering mentoring opportunities.
“[Based on the new law] people are recruited and promoted based on their credibility and their productivity and are mentored.”
“Because for example, one of the articles in the law right now states that person who is underperforming is given six months’ notice with areas of improvement and is given six months to improve on himself. If those six months elapse and he hasn't improved then the employer is entitled to replace him with another Omani with the same profession.” Al Sulaimani referred to article (43), which requires employers to notify underperforming employees of their shortcomings while offering them a grace period of six months to perform at the required level.
The article stipulates that if an Omani employee is terminated, another citizen must fill their position.
Additionally, terminated employees will be granted up to ten paid hours per week during their workdays to look for alternative employment during the notice period, according to article (39).
Article (39) mandates that terminated employees will be entitled to up to 10 paid hours per week during their notice period to look for alternative employment.
Based on recent data from National Centre for Statistics and Information, the number of Public Authority for Social Insurance (PASI) registered Omani workers in the private sector totaled 275,623, while the number of expatriate workers stands 1.79 million.
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