ZIRAAT TIMES NEWS
Srinagar: In a major development, signalling the extent of the economic stress caused by the Covid19 pandemic, oil-rich Gulf country of Oman on Wednesday directed all state-owned companies to replace foreign workers with local Omanis to develop the national workforce, The Times of Oman reported.
According to sources in Oman, there are about 550 Kashmiri families working in Oman, some of whom work for a few public sector companies. This order is likely to affect some of them too, Ziraat Times has learnt.
About 1.5 million, or 15 lakh, of Oman’s 4.6 million residents are expatriates who work in state-owned and private sector companies.
In total, there are at least 8,00,000 Indian workers in Oman and a part of them also work in public companies, who are likely to be affected by the order.
A circular issued by the finance ministry said that the replacement of expats with Omanis will need to be done in a “speedy and organised manner”. The ministry also said the order to ensure quality jobs to locals will have its implementation costs included in the 2021 budget estimates.
“The circular comes within the context of the government’s attention to upgrading the skills of Omani citizens to enable them to contribute efficiently to the comprehensive march of domestic development,” a statement issued by the finance ministry said.
It said a number of expatriates occupy leadership and supervisory jobs in government firms, adding that the companies have “good potential” to execute the decision.
