The Minister of Labour has issued an order making it mandatory to appoint an Omani supervisor for occupational safety and health work in all establishments with more than 50 employees.
His Excellency Dr. Mahad bin Said bin Ali Ba’owain, Minister of Labour, issued the decision, amending some provisions of the regulations for occupational safety and health measures in the Labour Law.
As per the text of the decision, “The owner of the establishment with fifty or more workers must appoint an Omani supervisor for occupational safety and health work, to be trained and qualified by the establishment for this work.”
The competencies and job description are as the following:
- Preparing the established occupational safety and health plan.
- Participating with specialists in preparing employee training programmes to prevent risks in the work environment.
- Periodic inspection of all workplaces and workers’ housing.
- Making the necessary measurements to prevent hazards on the job
- Inspecting and recording severe accidents and work injuries.
- Providing first aid and basic health care for workers, including transporting workers to clinics and hospitals.
- Expressing an opinion on the purchase of tools and equipment related to occupational safety and health within the facility and assessing their suitability for the work environment.
- Preparing warnings and guidelines for everything related to occupational safety and health within the institution.
Oman’s Ministry of Labour has mandated that all companies having more than 50 employees must employ an occupational safety and health specialist.
The tasks of occupational safety and health supervisor as stipulated by the Labour Ministry, includes preparation of occupational safety and health plan for the organization, ensuring appropriate training programmes for staff, and educating them about the dangers if any at the work premises.
It also includes periodic inspection of the workplaces and workers’ residences in the facility and taking the necessary measures to prevent environmental hazards.
The companies and institutions that fall under the decision must train and qualify occupational health and safety specialists, and adhere to all the rules in Oman, to avoid any violation by the Ministry of Labour.
In a statement, MoL, which had previously announced the Omanisation of the profession of a specialist in occupational and health safety for establishments that employ 50 or more workers, said, “companies can also benefit from the various support funding opportunities provided by the ministry for training programmes associated with employment or on the job training.”
Apart from ensuring a safe and stable work environment, this move is also expected to bring job opportunities to Omani youth.
The occupational safety and health domain which was relegated to specific industries such as Energy and Oil and Gas will now apply to a vast range of companies that have more than 50 staff.
Health, Safety, Environment, are major mandatory components of many companies in the Energy sector that handles everything that falls within the remit of the title (HSE).
The Ministry of Labor has also asked the company to provide the necessary training after hiring them, prepare health care plans in the workplace and devise training programmes for workers. Supervisors will be tasked with providing first aid and hospitalization in the event of a workplace accident.
