Oman’s Ministry of Labour’s Wages Protection System (WPS) has issued warnings to 57,398 private firms for failing to comply with its guidelines within its first year of operation.
The WPS, launched on July 9, 2023, aims to regulate salary transfers in Oman’s private sector and ensure timely payments to employees. As of August 20, over 57,000 companies have registered with the system but haven’t yet transferred salaries through it.
The ministry has categorized these firms into different sizes: large, medium, small, and micro. Warnings were issued to 66 large companies, 536 medium-sized businesses, 10,659 small businesses, and 46,137 micro-businesses between January 10 and August 20.
The ministry has set compliance deadlines for different company sizes. Medium and large businesses were required to achieve 50% compliance by November 9, 2023, and full compliance by January 9.
Smaller companies had until January 9, for 50% compliance and March 9, for full adherence.
Non-compliance with the WPS can result in penalties, including the suspension of initial labor permits and an administrative fine of OMR 50.
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The ministry has sent SMS warnings to over 186,000 businesses and organized awareness workshops across various governorates.
The WPS is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Labour and the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) to safeguard workers’ rights and ensure timely salary payments through local banks and financial institutions.
