Expats aged over 60 could help sharpen workers’ skills in Oman

Muscat: The expertise of the 20,000 or so expatriates aged above 60 and working in Oman can be used to improve the skills of their younger colleagues, the Minister of Labour, Dr Mahad Ba’owain has said.

The minister’s comments came following the issue of a circular enabling the renewal of work visas for expatriates above 60 years of age.

“The interpretation of the circular is very simple…the idea here pertains to a company or organisation that has achieved the required Omanisation percentage, and have job openings that are either not reserved solely for Omanis, or for which there is no room for Omanis to be appointed,” he said, speaking to Oman TV.

“We do not see why the Ministry of Labour – in such cases – must interfere in renewing an employee’s work permit, as long as the company where he is employed feels that he is still producing and doing good work for the company, even if he is above 60,” he added. “There is no objection in renewing his work visa, as long his company deems it appropriate to do so.”

Ba’owain specifically pointed out to expatriates employed in a number of skilled professions, including academics and research in universities and consultants in hospitals, who do a tremendous amount of valuable work to improve the quality of service provided at their place of work.

“This does not mean that we have taken the decision to deprive eligible Omanis of work – if there is an Omani present who is compatible with the job the expatriate worker is doing, and if he holds the necessary skills, qualification and experience, then it is possible that the expatriate worker can be replaced, if their employer so desires,” he added.

The Minister of Labour stressed there were about 400 or 500 Omani nationals who left the public sector last year, because they had reached the age of retirement from government offices, and were offered senior roles by private companies.
“It was impossible for companies to take fresh graduates or new job seekers to fill these roles,” he explained. “Once a government employee reaches the age of 60, they are required to retire from government posts, but let us not forget that these people are still capable, and have local experience of more than 20 years.

“We felt it better to allow Omanis to take up these supervisory roles, rather than hire expatriates from overseas,” he added. “We could have prevented these retirees from working in the private sector, but to enable and encourage them to work is a far better decision.”

Ba’owain explained that the Ministry of Labour needed to stay open to the manner in which employers choose to renew the work permits for non-Omani staff aged 60 and above, given the experience and skills they bring with them.

“There are about 1.5 million expatriate workers in Oman, among whom those above 60 amount to just 20,000 or 25,000, so there is no need for much resentment or excess discussion over their presence at work,” said the minister.

The circular permitting expatriate workers aged 60 and above was issued to Nasr Al Hosani, the Undersecretary for Labour at the Ministry of Labour, and stated as follows:

“We would like to inform you that in view of the current state of the private sector and the large number of requests for exceptions to renew licences for expatriate manpower above the age of 60, I ask your Excellency to instruct your staff to cancel the 60-year age cap for workers in the private sector and take appropriate measures.”