Police arrest 278 \'illegal\' workers in Oman

Muscat The Ministry of Manpower Tuesday arrested, with the help of Royal Oman Police (ROP), 278 expatriates for allegedly violating the country’s residency laws. “We are determined to eradicate the nuisance of illegal workforce in the country to achieve this we continue to carry out raids on a regular basis with the help of ROP,” Salim Bin Saeed Al Badi, Director-General of Labour Welfare at the Ministry of Manpower, said in a statement to Gulf News. Of the 278 caught Tuesday, 167 were laid off by their employers, while 35 had absconded from their work place and 76 were infiltrators. Salim Bin Saeed Al Badi, Director-General of Labour Welfare at the Ministry of Manpower A team of trained inspectors from the Ministry along with Royal Oman Police officers, raided some areas in Hamriya and Muttrah district in Muscat to apprehend expatriate labourers working without valid papers. “Of the 278 caught today, 167 were laid off by their employers, while 35 had absconded from their work place and 76 were infiltrators,” he said. Most illegal workers were caught at construction sites, restaurants, cafes, and some domestic workers. “They (illegal expatriate residents) are a big negative influence on out society,” he said. He feels that the government’s drive alone was not enough to wipe out the illegal workforce. “We need citizens to cooperate and help in countering this phenomena,” he said, adding that citizens must ensure that no expatriate works here illegally, nor a citizen should permit a worker under his employment to work for others,” he added. Even citizens harbouring illegal workers in anyway is liable for a minimum of 1,000 and upto 2000 Omani riyals fine per worker. “We have printed leaflets in 14 foreign languages, including Indian, Bangladeshi, Filipino, Sri Lankan, Indonesian, Philippine and Nepalese highlighting the issue.”