While we pledge our commitment to Omanisation as a principle, purpose and objective in all the sectors, we also indulge in some practices that negate all the achievements. One such practice — many of us do not even realise it — is subcontracting. When we use a subcontractor, we bypass all terms and conditions that are meant to ensure a certain level of Omanisation. Perhaps, this is the reason we find the ratio of Omanisation in some sectors isn’t up to the mark.
When talking about the ratio of workers, they only count their own employees and not workers of subcontracting companies they hire. These subcontractors employ expat workers in hundreds and go unnoticed.
They should look into the matter seriously. When citing figures, they should also mention the jobs in which non-Omanis are working. It is surprising we are allowing it to happen.
There are a lot of vocations and jobs in these areas in which citizens can be employed. Help is being sought by companies to employ workers in some areas where our own people who have passed out from colleges and universities could work.
There are hundreds of thousands of expatriate workers in these areas. The situation has become so serious that one of the major companies has more than 80,000 people working in technical assistance profession.
Some organisations and companies are now assigning work to external human resources companies to bring in foreigners in areas where the citizens could work. They even work on a temporary basis.
If citizens were hired to these positions, at least they could get practical experience, expertise and the required exposure in their areas and be prepared for future tasks instead of remaining idle and jobless.
What these companies are doing is just a clever and well-understood method to bypass the principles of Omanisation, which is mandatory.
The government appears to be firm in ensuring Omanisation reaches a particular level. There is no scope for indulging in practices that thwart these plans.
There are certain jobs that may not be taken up by citizens. They are in the areas of cleaning and afforestation.
There are maintenance jobs in electrical, water, information technology and computer systems that are occupied by expatriate workers on contracts from various companies. We are told the ratio of Omanisation in these areas is hundred per cent, which is not true.
For example, there are companies that work in the area of information technology. They are used by government organisations to manage their computer and information technology systems. You will find that the workers in these fields are from other nationalities. What is the logic for such practices?
Similarly, we have been seeking help from the engineering companies that have only expat workers. This is despite the fact that we have more than 5,000 engineers looking for a job.
It is surprising how any company or organisation can think about ways to circumvent the idea of Omanisation. The idea is important as it is guided by top leadership of the country.
We wish to see tangible progress in these issues of national interest. We are hopeful that the organisations concerned will look into this phenomenon. These are wrong practices and need to be corrected without any delay. It will be a great service for the country and its people.
ali.matani2@gmail.com
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