Firms dupe workers with Oman dreams

Muscat: Hiring qualified engineers from the Indian subcontinent and getting labour clearance for a construction company has become a modus operandi in which small companies then leave these engineers in a lurch.

"In several cases these small companies have no construction business but hire engineers for a temporary period in order to get labour clearance," P. M. Jabir, Welfare Secretary of Indian Social Club, told Gulf News.

"We do get a lot of complaints from civil engineers about being hired, brought here and then left on their own," an Indian embassy official told Gulf News. These engineers are brought with an eye on getting labour clearance for the so-called construction companies.

He added that partly these engineers were also responsible as they don't verify companies' credentials and in some cases don't even sign agreements.

He said in most cases the proprietor of these small companies provides visas to blue-collar workers at a price.

"These visas are the so-called free visa," he said. Oman's Manpower Ministry has tightened its noose to stop this practice and legitimise the labour sector in the country but the practice continues.