MUSCAT: More than 500 expat workers break Oman’s labour laws every week, with more than 26,000 illegal workers arrested for violations in 2019, according to a senior Ministry of Manpower (MoM) official.
Speaking exclusively to The Arabian Stories, the official said the inspection team works round-the-clock including during official holidays to clamp down on illegal workers. “Our teams work day and night for 24-hours and as a result we have arrested about 26,000 workers last year,” he said.
According to the official, the ministry has intensified its campaign against infiltrators and illegal foreign workers with weekly inspections and raids.
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The Manpower official urged expatriates to follow all residency laws and urged citizens as well as residents to report any illegal resident to the police and not give them shelter or employment.
Our teams work day and night and as a result we have arrested about 26,000 workers last year.
Ministry of Manpower
Oman’s expatriate workforce stood at 1,721,035 in December 2019, according to statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
Bangladeshi nationals made up the majority of the workforce with 635,262 followed by Indians at 620,650 followed by Pakistanis and Filipinos with 208,199 and 49,489 people.
