Oman salary issues of expats almost doubled in 2017: Indian envoy

Muscat: Expat grievances nearly doubled in 2017 compared to 2016, according to the Indian Ambassador to Oman.

“In 2016, we had 2,200 cases of people complaining of a lack or delay in salary payment. In 2017, the number went up to 4,000 cases,” said Indian Ambassador to Oman Indra Mani Pandey.

The economic downturn resulted in companies across Oman resorting to austerity measures, including delaying payment of salaries and terminating the services of employees. During this time, a number of Indian expatriates approached the embassy, especially during the open houses every third Friday of the month.

“There has certainly been an increase in the number of grievances. We used the same mechanism that we had used in the past to address the grievances and we have largely been successful in most of the cases,” he said.

Pandey said the embassy worked closely with the Ministry of Manpower to resolve most labour-related issues. “What we have learnt through the process is that there are issues that need to be addressed, but when we work with the Ministry of Manpower we can resolve most of the issues. We have also been talking to the sponsors and employers and we are receiving excellent cooperation.”

Recently, it was announced that Munu Mahawar had been appointed the new ambassador to Oman. However, Pandey will continue for the next couple of months.

“We will continue to do what we have been doing in different areas of our operations. There is a major event coming up, which is the International Day of Yoga. We are busy with the celebrations of the day. We would like to bring in as many people as possible under one roof,” he said.

“There is also a bilateral platform called the Joint Commission on Commerce and Industry, which will be meeting in July. In the meanwhile, there are some business delegations that have planned to visit India,” he added.