Along with hiring ban on expatriates in different occupations in the private sector, Omanisation of leadership positions is also on course. Although the slowdown in economic activities led to accelerated decline of 3.1 per cent in aggregate employment in the private sector in 2019, employment to Omanis still expanded by 4 per cent during the year.
Pointing out that the private sector employment largely followed the evolving macroeconomic developments, the Annual Report 2019 by the Central Bank of Oman, said the focus largely been on In-Country Value strategies and efforts that could provide higher employment opportunities to Omanis and also develop local vendors and contractors.
“While the hiring ban for expatriates was stepped up for occupations across numerous fields and include both junior and senior positions, the government is aiming at Omanisation of more leadership positions in the private sector”, the said.
Data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information show that there have been 255,546 Omanis working in the private sector at the end of October this year. This is a 2.4 per cent fall against 262,333 nationals working in the sector during the corresponding period last year. The NCSI data also show that there has been a substantial rise in the number of nationals receiving higher salaries compared to the previous years.
While the nationals drawing a monthly salary of RO 2,000 and above increased by 7 per cent during the period, those in the bracket between RO 500 and RO 600 registered a rise of 6.7 per cent.
Similarly, those earning above RO 800 and below RO 2,000 increased between 4 and five per cent, while those in the minimum wage scale fell by 9.9 per cent during the period.
Recruitment ban on expatriates in select professions was introduced a few years ago to regulate the Omani labour market and encourage more job opportunities for citizens. The share of Omanis in total employment in the private sector inched up to 13.7 per cent in 2019 from 12.7 per cent a year ago.
According to the report, “the private sector has been targeting training and upskilling of the Omani youth for potential direct employment as well as the development of SMEs”.
In a recent decision, the government retained several high-ranking job positions for nationals including assistant general managers, administration managers, director or manager of Human Resources, manager for employee affairs, training managers, follow-up managers, public relations managers and assistant director or managers.
The Ministry of Labour is further working on legislation that will set term for expats in leadership roles and to give top positions to Omani citizens working in the private sector.
In a recent statement, Shaikh Nasr al Hosni, Under-Secretary of Labour said, “We are working on a legislation that will ensure expatriates do not stay in leadership positions for long.” Majlis Ash’shura had called upon the minister of manpower to replace all the expatriates occupying top positions in the private sector, including the post of chief executive officers, with nationals.
SAMUEL KUTTY
@samkuttyvp
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