MUSCAT:On average 100 expatriate workers who have violated labour laws were arrested daily in March alone, statistics from Ministry of Manpower reveals. 

Between March 24 and 30, a total of 650 expats were arrested for violating the Labour Law and another 618 deported in one week, Oman’s Ministry of Manpower had announced.

And a total of 2,319 individuals were arrested by the joint inspection team involving the Ministry of Manpower, the Royal Oman Police and other agencies, as part of a campaign which took place between March 3 to 21, 2019.

Labour Law violations include running away from sponsors/employers, staying in the country for extended periods on tourist visas or working illegally with expired residency visas. 

Who all are arrested?
The violating expat workers are arrested either directly during inspections and welfare checks in the employing companies they run away from or during raids carried out by the ministry concerned in neighbourhoods, commercial centres and shops, while some surrender voluntarily. 

Their conditions are settled with their employers after reviewing their records to check if any expat worker is wanted by judicial authorities for crimes during the escape period. 

Moreover, the ministry concerned sometimes announces an exceptional amnesty period to allow those expats to turn themselves in voluntarily for deportation.

The labour law also prohibits the employer from allowing any expatriate worker to work for others as the contract shall be in writing, including type of work, categories and wages according to the job or occupation of each worker. 

It obligates the licensee to return the worker to the entity from which he was brought, if it is proved he does not meet the conditions stipulated in the contract.

21,000 workers arrested in first 10 months
During the first 10 months of 2018, the Ministry of Manpower (MoM) had arrested over 21,000 workers for labour law violations.

The Department of Labour Inspection organizes inspection visits to the private sector’s establishments, to ensure their compliance with the laws and decrees through three sections: the Routine Inspection Section, the Work Permits Inspection Section and the Foreign Workers Recruitment Agencies Section. General labour inspectors do not inspect safety and health conditions, but if they come across any relevant violations they report them to the director of OSH department who follows up with his inspectors.

The Department of Occupational Safety and Health has within its mandate to conduct regular inspection visits to enterprises in all sectors to ensure that they abide by the safety and health provisions of the Omani Labour Law. The Department of Labour Services also monitors enterprises concerning the implementation of the labour law provisions related to workers’ social welfare and services. The Office of Joint Inspection conducts regular routine visits to enterprises and workplaces to ensure that all their foreign workers are legal and have valid work permits.