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Number of expats coming to Oman decline
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Whatever will be



Joined: 05 Feb 2014
Posts: 303

PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 5:20 am    Post subject: Number of expats coming to Oman decline Reply with quote

Although this refers to construction workers and maids, it's work keeping an eye on these sorts of statistics to gauge the impact of the new labour laws.
Hopefully, they will follow up with data on the education sector.

http://www.timesofoman.com/News/36282/Article-Number-of-expats-coming-to-Oman-registers-decline
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MuscatGary



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 1364
Location: Flying around the ME...

PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 11:05 am    Post subject: Re: Number of expats coming to Oman decline Reply with quote

Whatever will be wrote:
Although this refers to construction workers and maids, it's work keeping an eye on these sorts of statistics to gauge the impact of the new labour laws.
Hopefully, they will follow up with data on the education sector.

http://www.timesofoman.com/News/36282/Article-Number-of-expats-coming-to-Oman-registers-decline


Shock! Actually this is partly due to the restriction on issuing visas to ex-pat females. However, it is certainly a sign of the times. I guess that soon we will start to see poor Omanis doing at least some of the manual work albeit under duress.
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Whatever will be



Joined: 05 Feb 2014
Posts: 303

PostPosted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 6:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Today's news on the same issue. In a nutshell:

The number of expatriates coming to Oman had declined between March and May this year.

More and more Omanis are getting jobs in the private sector with salaries increasing.

http://www.timesofoman.com/News/36333/Article-Number-of-Omanis-working-in-private-sector-sees-a-climb
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pooroldedgar



Joined: 07 Oct 2010
Posts: 181

PostPosted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 7:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I disagree with you Muscatgary, I don't think we'll start to see that.

I think the rubbish in this country will be four-feet high and pedestrians will have to wade through it like a wheat field in Iowa before we see Omanis sweeping the streets.

And as for construction? Prepare yourself for the return of the tent. Cause I see the migrants building houses and I see locals in class, and never the twain shall meet.
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 12:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have to disagree a bit with you pooroldedgar. Omanis were never nomadic tent dwellers (except for a few very small tribes from border areas). They have always lived in villages either on the shore, fishing... and in the oasis around the mountains where they grew dates and other foods. And historically, they have always been known to have the cleanest towns in the Middle East - although all is relative, of course. Cool It seems to be the younger generation who needs a good old fashioned "don't be a litter bug" campaign, as taught to a generation of Americans when I was growing up.

When I arrived there in the late 80s, the people bagging the food in many supermarkets were elderly Omani men. Unlike the rest of the Gulf, Omanis drove the taxis from day one. The police were Omani... and so were the police in the UAE. (I assume that it has been Emiratized since then...)

The parents and grandparents of our students included many migrant workers... because they had to leave Oman to get jobs. In Kuwaiti dialect, the word for dockworker was and may still be "Omani." So, Omanis have always known how to work and didn't worry about getting their hands dirty. But the current generation of students think that Oman should take care of them like in the wealthier Gulf countries - for which Oman doesn't have the resources. IMHO, one major mistake was the government waiting too long to Omanize... and let a generation (or two) get used to doing nothing. Another was to over-educate - ie send to colleges - students who are not college material and should have been taught trades. Keep university educations for the best and brightest at SQU and/or abroad.

But, hindsight is 20/20 (or 6/6 if you are metric) and I'm sure that there is much that would have been done differently if the government could do things over... There are so many hard-working, intelligent, sensible Omanis that one hopes that they will pull it all together eventually. But it will take time... and it may take another generation or two.

VS
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MuscatGary



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
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Location: Flying around the ME...

PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 5:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree slightly with VS but with some reservations. The Omanis who I see working hard in manual type jobs are mainly from Tanzanian or Zanzibarian backgrounds.

I agree also that too many are being pushed into HE (as is also the case in the UK) but the Omanis who have been pushed into trades present a problem for the construction and engineering companies in that they have a piece of paper that says they are qualified but when it comes to doing anything they are clueless. Many of them become the 'sleeping Omanis' aka indirect taxation on overseas companies via Omanisation.

The unskilled jobs are resented by Omanis and you only have to visit Carrefour to see shoppers (including Omanis!) scouting for Filipina checkout girls rater than undergo the torture of an Omani checkout girl who can only use one hand as the other must be reserved for her mobile which will ring halfway through your shopping being processed and which WILL take priority.

Again I agree with VS, they've been spoilt but the Arab Spring is still in te mind of the powers that be and nothing will change for the better IMHO.
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omanoman



Joined: 11 Jun 2014
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 6:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have never had the experience you have had, MG with these aloof and uncaring check out girls at any retail outlet I have been to in any of the larger cities, Muscat, Nizwa, Sohar and Rustaq.

Frankly, I think the characterization of them that you have stated here is certainly generalized and mostly inaccurate and rude.
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MuscatGary



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
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Location: Flying around the ME...

PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 6:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

omanoman wrote:
I have never had the experience you have had, MG with these aloof and uncaring check out girls at any retail outlet I have been to in any of the larger cities, Muscat, Nizwa, Sohar and Rustaq.

Frankly, I think the characterization of them that you have stated here is certainly generalized and mostly inaccurate and rude.


I'm beginning to doubt that you've ever set foot in Oman.
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Whatever will be



Joined: 05 Feb 2014
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 7:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

MuscatGarry

You are spot on!

Over the last few weeks, my local supermarket has increasingly employed Omanis at the detriment of Filipinas, who are sadly missed.

There is no more friendly ' hello', the queues are heaps longer as the Omanis are very slow. On top of it, they will make you wait while texting on their phone and make frequent mistakes in giving change.
Did I mention that they toss the groceries down the chute (instead of gently letting them roll) for packaging, resulting in bruising of fruit and vegetables?

I wait for the day that Oman (Supermarkets such as Carrefour or Lulu) uses self-check outs, as is the case in civilized societies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_checkout
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omanoman



Joined: 11 Jun 2014
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 7:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

and it is clear that you and Whatever no longer should be.

really?? the classic "civilized" comparison / cultural slur?

pathetic
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Whatever will be



Joined: 05 Feb 2014
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 9:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Omanoman

Check the dictionary:
Civilized: having a high state of culture and social development both social and technological
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nicole2010



Joined: 24 Jan 2010
Posts: 25

PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 9:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

omanoman re" -->I have never had the experience you have had, MG with these aloof and uncaring check out girls at any retail outlet I have been to in any of the larger cities, Muscat, Nizwa, Sohar and Rustaq.

Come on OmanOman get real! I appreciate you supporting the Omani cause as it adds balance to the forum and there are many positive things about Oman (at least for me) but stay in reality. There is definately a 'service' issue here in Oman. The tourism college even has had issues with this with their students, how to get over 'serving' people (no joke).

I have never been to a check out line at the hypermarket where the register attendant wasn't texting on their mobile or using WhatsUp. Maybe, this is a management problem indirectly. But, this texting 'addiction' is even a worse problem on the roads.
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omanoman



Joined: 11 Jun 2014
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 9:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, what can I say. I have never been ignored or interrupted service. The way it is portrayed as "torturous" is ridiculously hyperbolic and says more about the attitude of the poster than the reality of Omani retail clerks and their job performance.

Are you expecting VIP service by highly motivated and skilled clerks? Do we get that in our own countries? Shall we make the same sweeping generalizations about the UK, US, Canada, Australia based on the interactions with the bored clerk at the grocery store?

That is my issue with these posts and rightfully so. I have my own grumbles and complaints but I consider them with a much broader perspective than these two are offering. Now, we're getting dictionary definitions of "civilized" when the inference is that Oman is not civilized? What should any of us say to that? Is it even worth engaging with that attitude?
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nicole2010



Joined: 24 Jan 2010
Posts: 25

PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 10:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

OmanOman...re....The difference in the standard of service is noticeable.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 10:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Now, we're getting dictionary definitions of "civilized" when the inference is that Oman is not civilized? What should any of us say to that? Is it even worth engaging with that attitude?

It's called ethnocentrism.
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