Oman sets minimum wage of 325 riyals for every citizen

Muscat: Nasr Al Hosni, undersecretary of Oman’s Ministry of Labour, announced that Oman has de-linked the minimum wage requirement to academic qualifications, according to the WAF Oman news service. Regardless of the qualifications, Omanis will be paid RO 325 (Dh3,100), which is the minimum prescribed salary for Omani job seekers. In other words the minimum wage for Omani job seekers linked to their academic degree is cancelled, as long as it exceeds the general minimum wage of RO 325.

This step comes within the Fiscal Balance Programme of 2020-2024 plan (Tawazon). Earlier, Omanis with certain academic qualifications had higher minimum wage exceeding RO 350 depending on their college degree.

Ministry of Labour has been initiating several moves to ensure more and more job availability for Omanis in private as well as government sector. A significant recent move by the Ministry of Labour included the discontinuation of sub-contracting of expatriate employees, a move that would provide more employment opportunities to Omanis.

In this context, Al Hosni held a meeting with the HR officials from major banks, finance companies and money exchange companies. The meeting was attended by more than 30 human resources officials who affirmed their readiness to impart the necessary job-training and skill-transfer to Omani cadres. A vast majority of expatriate staff in finance, banking and IT sector in Oman are sub-contracted personnel.

More recently several vacancies in the fields of various government related services, including health sector, were announced, calling for Omani candidates. Labour Ministry officials have also been regularly meeting private sector representatives on creating job opportunities for Omani citizens as well as to review the Omanisation process in organisations.