PART TWO
Employment of Citizens and Regulation of Foreigners’ Work
CHAPTER ONE
Employment of Citizens
Article (11)
The employer shall employ the Omani workers to the maximum possible extent. The
ratio of Omanis to the foreigners in the various economic sectors or the activities
covered by each sector as may be necessitated by the circumstances of each sector
or activity and the extent of availability of the necessary Omani workers, shall
be determined by a decision of the Minister.
The employer shall ensure the equality of all workers when the nature and conditions
of their work are similar.
Article (12)
Any Omani who is fit and desirous to work may apply for registration of his name
with the relevant directorate and state details of his age, qualifications, experience,
preferences and the work he desires to join in addition to any other information
as may be determined by the Ministry.
Such department shall register the applications in serial numbers upon receipt thereof
and shall give the applicant an acknowledgement of registration in the form specified
by the Ministry.
Article (13)
The relevant directorate in the context of procuring employment for Omani citizens,
assume responsibility for the following:
- Obtain from employers, information of vacant posts and occupations and the necessary
conditions for filling them.
- Nomination of applicants to the vacant posts and occupations if they satisfy the
necessary conditions for filling them.
- Providing advice and assistance to the applicants in relation to the fields of vocational
training and guidance to facilitate their employment in the vacant posts and occupations.
- Any other matters as may be specified by the Minister. The nominations made by this
directorate shall be binding on employers with the exception of such activities
and regions as may be specified by a decision of the Minister.
Article (14)
The employer or his representative shall send the following to the relevant directorate
during the month of January of each year on the forms prescribed by the Ministry:
- A detailed statement on the number of his workers classified according to the types
of their jobs, occupations, their wages and gender.
- A statement of the reasons for not filling the posts and occupations which have
fallen vacant or have been created during the past year, if any.
- A statement on the status of work conditions and anything related thereto in respect
of employment opportunities and the expected increase or decrease in their number
during one year.
The Minister may modify the periodicity of collection of these statements if the
public interest so requires.
The employer or his representative shall submit the statements required for the
field survey or the technical researches for planning and development of manpower
according to the plans, programmes and schemes which the Ministry may implement.
Article (15)
The employer or his representative shall notify the relevant directorate in writing
of the posts and occupations which fall vacant or have been created at his place
of work, whatever their type is, with information on each one of them and the wage
thereof and the specified date for its occupation within one month from the date
of the vacancy or creation thereof.
The employer shall, within one month from the date of employing an applicant for
work pursuant to Section (13) of this law, send the registration certificate of
such worker to the directorate which had issued it, and enclose a statement including
the date such worker has joined the work, the wage specified therefore and the type
of work. The serial number of the registration certificate and the date thereof
shall be recorded in front of the worker’s name in the workers’ register at the
establishment.
Article (16)
The employer or his representative shall record in a special register the names
of Omani workers employed by him and the address, age, gender and the kind of work
assigned to each one of them, his social status, the amount of wage and the benefits
in cash or in kind which he may obtain, and shall keep such register at the place
of work.
Article (17)
The employer who employs fifty workers or more shall appoint persons who are of
special needs nominated by the relevant directorate who are occupationally qualified
in jobs which are suitable to their conditions, within such limits as may be determined
by a decision of the Minister.
Such persons of special needs who are employed pursuant to the preceding paragraph
shall enjoy all the rights prescribed for other workers.
CHAPTER TWO
Regulations of foreigners’ work
Article (18)
The employer is prohibited from bringing forward non-Omani workers unless he has
obtained a permit from the Ministry. The grant of such permit shall be subject to
the following conditions:
- that there are not among the Omanis the sufficient work force for the posts or occupations;
- that the employer has complied with the prescribed percentages of Omanisation; and
- payment of determined fees.
A non-Omani is prohibited from joining any work in the Sultanate before obtaining
a labour card, the grant of which shall be subject to the following conditions:
- That the worker has the professional competence or technical skill or the qualifications
needed by the country;
- That the employer has a permit to bring the worker forward in accordance with the
first paragraph of this Section;
- That the worker has entered the country in a lawful manner and satisfies the conditions
provided in the Foreigners Residence Law;
- That the worker is medically fit and free of such contagious and chronic diseases
as may be specified by the Ministry of Health;
- That the worker has entered into a contract with an Omani or non-Omani employer
who has obtained the necessary permit from the Ministry of Commerce & Industry,
if the worker is needed to work in the establishment;
- that the prescribed fees have been paid.
The labour card shall be granted upon the employer’s request.
Article (19)
The following shall be determined by a decision of the Minister:
- The permit fees for bringing forward non-Omani workers and the fees for the issuance
of the labour card and its renewal in coordination with the Ministry of Finance
after the approval of the Council of Ministers.
- The form and duration of the labour card which shall be renewable for a similar
duration or for any duration as may be specified by the decision.
- The professions and jobs which non-Omanis are not allowed to practice.
Article (20)
No person shall be allowed to practice the activity of providing foreign workers
without obtaining a license to that effect from the Ministry, and an employer is
prohibited from contracting with any person for the provision of foreign workers
unless such person has a license for that purpose.
A decision of the Minister shall specify the conditions which are prerequisite for
granting a license, the rights and duties of the licensee, the conditions and particulars
which must be available in the contract entered into between the employer and the
licensee and particularly the contract shall be written and contains the type of
work, categories and wages of the workers according to the job or profession of
each one of them, and the obligation of the licensee to send the worker back to
the place where he has been brought from for work if it is evident that he does
not satisfy the conditions provided for by the contract.
Neither the employer nor the person licensed to provide foreign workers shall charge
the worker any sums in consideration of his employment.
