Muscat – In a significant move, Oman has introduced the first-of-its-kind Social Protection Law in the region – a milestone in the country’s commitment to fostering inclusiveness and ensuring the welfare of all its residents.
With this new law, expatriate workers in Oman will now have access to end-of-service benefits, providing them with the much-needed social security and peace of mind after years of dedicated service to the nation.
This move will also strengthen the bond between Oman and its diverse expatriate community. Oman warmly embraces its diverse expatriate community, providing it a sanctuary of comfort and peace.
How can this system be streamlined for the maximum benefit of expats? Here’s what Muscat Daily readers said –
Kiran Choudhury, Housewife
To get benefit out of the social protection bill for expatriates, the Wage Protection System (WPS) should be strictly implemented and followed. Workers under labour contracts suffer badly due to unpaid salaries and benefits. There must also be fines that need to be imposed for organisations that do not follow the WPS.
Amir Hosein Anvari, Senior business head of retail operations
The new Social Protection Law should ensure clear and transparent guidelines on eligibility, calculation and timely payment of benefits. Implementing an online platform for seamless processing and communication will maximise efficiency and benefit expats.
Santosh Kumar, Private sector employee
Oman’s pioneering move in introducing the Social Protection Law is indeed a remarkable step towards promoting inclusiveness and welfare for all residents, including expatriates. To streamline this system for the maximum benefit of expats, the government can enhance accessibility to information and services related to social protection, ensuring that expats are well informed about their rights and entitlements. Additionally, simplifying the application process and making processes more online will facilitate expatriates’ access to social support programmes.
Mohamad Owais Qazi, Fishing equipment salesman
The law expands the social security cover to expat workers who will be covered for employment injury, maternity and sickness under the same terms as national workers. Also, non-Omani mothers get maternity leave of 14 weeks at full pay and non-Omani fathers get paternity leave of seven days at full pay for newborns, besides uniform employment injury insurance for all employed expats.
Salman al Abri, Private sector employee
One of the easy ways would be if government agencies could collaborate with diplomatic missions and community organisations or clubs for a better understanding of the expatriate community’s unique needs, leading to tailored assistance where necessary. There must be good language translators for better understanding between the communities.
Obaid Qureshi, Salesman
The different embassies and their respective social organisations, including schools, can conduct regular outreach campaigns to raise awareness among expats about the available social protection measures. This will ensure that they can avail maximum benefits.
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