25 May 2015
Muscat: More than 1,000 expatriate employees were arrested for working illegally at the new terminal being built at Muscat International Airport project, a senior official of the Ministry of Manpower (MoM) said.
As revealed on timesofoman.com yesterday, the official said that workers, who were arrested on Wednesday, were violating the Labour Laws of the country.
"The companies for which these illegal workers were working will be fined and the workers will be deported," Salim bin Said Al Badi, director-general of Labour Welfare at the Ministry of Manpower said in a statement on Sunday.
He also said that no visas would be issued to the violating companies.
"The workers had visas for restaurants, coffee shops, barber shops, tailors and housemaids. But we were surprised when we saw them working at the airport project as construction workers," according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Manpower.
When contacted, a construction company manager said that it is difficult for sub-contracting companies to get visas for their workers.
"So, we are compelled to depend on free visa holders and undocumented workers, which is actually a violation of the Labour Law. If this situation has to end, then the Ministry of Manpower has to step in and find a solution to it," the company manager said on the condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, a Majlis Al Shura member, responding to the arrest of illegal workers, said that the companies hiring such workers should be blacklisted.
"Blacklisting the companies is the only solution. At present, if a company violates the law by hiring workers illegally, the punishment is different in each case. Some get only the warning while others are fined. This has to be stopped. Punishment for violators should not differ in each case," Tawfiq Al Lawati, a Shura member told Times of Oman.
"Moreover, most of the illegal workers are on free visas. This has to be stopped. The companies or sponsors who are issuing free visas should be blacklisted," the Shura member said, adding that 20,859 government employees and 26,751 private sector employees are having commercial licences.
"These employees may be behind the free visa system. Out of the 20,859 government employees, 6,218 are having two to five companies and in the private sector employees category the number is 7,418," the Shura member said.
He said that some other companies don't allow government employees to have commercial licences.
Bangladesh Social Club President Mohammed Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan said that the activities of some recruitment agencies should be examined as well.
"I firmly believe that people should work in the sectors for which they have been hired," he said.
Shaji Sebastin, a Muscat-based social worker, said workers should be aware of rogue recruitment agencies.
"This is how the workers get the so-called free visa and they try to do different kind of jobs. If this is to be stopped, stringent control measures should be taken by both the sending and receiving countries," he said.
Meanwhile, the latest data released by the ministry of manpower states that between May 18 and 21, around 397 illegal workers were deported and 1,580 had registered for returning home.
Statistics also revealed that 1,402 expatriates have been caught for Labour Law violations between May 17 and May 23.
"Among them, 1,285 were commercial workers while 64 were farmers and 53 were domestic servants," it said.
The Muscat Governorate has registered the highest number of Labour Law violators for this week with 1,104 followed by 105 in North Asharqiyah Governorate.
The new airport where these workers were working is being designed in such a way that will be able to accommodate the world's largest aircraft, the Airbus A380 and will have capacity to handle 12 million passengers per annum once completed.
The total gross floor area for the new Muscat International terminal building is 344,995 square metres.
Muscat: More than 1,000 expatriate employees were arrested for working illegally at the new terminal being built at Muscat International Airport project, a senior official of the Ministry of Manpower (MoM) said.
As revealed on timesofoman.com yesterday, the official said that workers, who were arrested on Wednesday, were violating the Labour Laws of the country.
"The companies for which these illegal workers were working will be fined and the workers will be deported," Salim bin Said Al Badi, director-general of Labour Welfare at the Ministry of Manpower said in a statement on Sunday.
He also said that no visas would be issued to the violating companies.
"The workers had visas for restaurants, coffee shops, barber shops, tailors and housemaids. But we were surprised when we saw them working at the airport project as construction workers," according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Manpower.
When contacted, a construction company manager said that it is difficult for sub-contracting companies to get visas for their workers.
"So, we are compelled to depend on free visa holders and undocumented workers, which is actually a violation of the Labour Law. If this situation has to end, then the Ministry of Manpower has to step in and find a solution to it," the company manager said on the condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, a Majlis Al Shura member, responding to the arrest of illegal workers, said that the companies hiring such workers should be blacklisted.
"Blacklisting the companies is the only solution. At present, if a company violates the law by hiring workers illegally, the punishment is different in each case. Some get only the warning while others are fined. This has to be stopped. Punishment for violators should not differ in each case," Tawfiq Al Lawati, a Shura member told Times of Oman.
"Moreover, most of the illegal workers are on free visas. This has to be stopped. The companies or sponsors who are issuing free visas should be blacklisted," the Shura member said, adding that 20,859 government employees and 26,751 private sector employees are having commercial licences.
"These employees may be behind the free visa system. Out of the 20,859 government employees, 6,218 are having two to five companies and in the private sector employees category the number is 7,418," the Shura member said.
He said that some other companies don't allow government employees to have commercial licences.
Bangladesh Social Club President Mohammed Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan said that the activities of some recruitment agencies should be examined as well.
"I firmly believe that people should work in the sectors for which they have been hired," he said.
Shaji Sebastin, a Muscat-based social worker, said workers should be aware of rogue recruitment agencies.
"This is how the workers get the so-called free visa and they try to do different kind of jobs. If this is to be stopped, stringent control measures should be taken by both the sending and receiving countries," he said.
Meanwhile, the latest data released by the ministry of manpower states that between May 18 and 21, around 397 illegal workers were deported and 1,580 had registered for returning home.
Statistics also revealed that 1,402 expatriates have been caught for Labour Law violations between May 17 and May 23.
"Among them, 1,285 were commercial workers while 64 were farmers and 53 were domestic servants," it said.
The Muscat Governorate has registered the highest number of Labour Law violators for this week with 1,104 followed by 105 in North Asharqiyah Governorate.
The new airport where these workers were working is being designed in such a way that will be able to accommodate the world's largest aircraft, the Airbus A380 and will have capacity to handle 12 million passengers per annum once completed.
The total gross floor area for the new Muscat International terminal building is 344,995 square metres.
© Times of Oman 2015
