“Other employers think that this certificate protects the confidentiality of both the profession and their clients, and it serves their interest.”

Meanwhile, numerous expats say their employers exploit staff by making them work long hours in return for no extra pay, as well as working on weekends, cancelling annual leave, and withholding salaries for weeks or months at a time.

Adam*, a top-level expat employee at a leading petroleum company in Oman, says numerous employees of a company contracting for his firm’s refineries have not been paid for more than six months.

“I was aghast when the workers came to my office asking me to help them. What upset me even more was that they hadn’t even had lunch that day as they couldn’t afford to have their meals. That is unacceptable.

“Their company doesn’t care about the workers. For them, all they have to do is make sure they meet their targets. Most of the labour force allegedly threatened to quit a few months back and in response, the company told them they were free to quit, and leave for their hometown and not look for another job in Oman.

“Will there ever be a solution here?”

Apart from being criticised for allowing employers to exploit employees, the NOC has also been blamed for the Sultanate’s drop in points – from 70 to 66 – in the Global Competitiveness Index 2016-17, which is an annual report published by the World Economic Forum that assesses the ability of countries to provide high levels of prosperity for their citizens and residents.

On June 28, six days into the poll, the results were published. And to the surprise of numerous expatriates and citizens alike, the votes came out in favour of keeping the NOC law.

The final results of the Arabic poll indicate that most respondants “disagree” with removing the NOC guideline (62 per cent), while only 32 per cent of voters “agree” with removing the regulation. Six per cent were unsure. In total, 7,117 votes were cast on the Arabic poll.

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