Contractors in Oman have urged the Ministry of Manpower to consider a general job visa for construction workers to avoid operational issues in the industry.
“We have proposed [to the ministry] to have a single nomenclature job visa (general visa) for construction workers. It will ease our operations,” Shaswar Al Balushi, chief executive officer of the Oman Society of Contractors told.
“We hope that the ministry will listen to us and implement the system as early as possible,” he added.
“If we have a single nomenclature job visa for a construction worker who knows electrical and carpentry work, then he will be able to perform both the jobs.
“It would not be a violation, according to the labour law, and companies can benefit,” he added.
Currently, anyone working in a field or occupation different from that listed on the work permit is breaking Omani law and can be sent home. Those not working for their sponsor are also breaking the law. There are 681,590 expatriates and 55,124 Omanis working in the construction sector, according to the latest data from the government.
Abdul Gafoor, general manager at Al Shabibi Global, welcomed the proposal, saying that it will help them in manpower recruitment, and is also financially sound.
“Due to certain bans, we are struggling to get manpower. If a general visa comes up, we will be able to cope with the current situation financially and work on the projects,” Gafoor said.
On July 1, Oman banned the issuance of visas for six months, in certain fields, especially in construction, to expatriates.
Source: TimesofOman