No more Indonesian domestic workers for Oman

Indonesia has stopped sending its domestic workers to Oman, according to a senior official of the Indonesian Embassy in Muscat.

Speaking to the Times of Oman, Bambang Daranindra, Minister Counsellor of the Indonesian Embassy in Muscat, said instead of domestic workers, they are now sending skilled workers from Indonesia to Oman.

“This is being done to regulate the recruitment process, and to protect the Indonesian workers in Oman. It will also end certain malpractices which agencies in Indonesia indulge in while recruiting domestic workers from various regions in Indonesia,” he said.

The decision was made last year but is rigorously being followed only now. “We have informed all the concerned authorities in this regard,” he added.

The current salary of untrained housemaids from Indonesia in Oman is OMR120 to OMR150 per month, while trained housemaids receive a salary of OMR200 a month.

Officials said they are currently studying the living conditions in each of the GCC states and are in the process of revising the salaries to meet the growing requirements of the workers.

“But right now we are keen on sending only more skilled workers to the Sultanate of Oman as there is a huge demand here,” Bambang Daranindra said.

According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the number of Indonesian nationals in the private sector in Oman was 32,535 in January 2016, including 31,891 females and 644 males.

“Our focus today is to reduce the number of Indonesia housemaids and, instead, to increase the number of professionals in other sectors including oil and gas, health and hospitality,” he said.

In November 2014, there were 35,738 including 35,111 women and 627 males among workers.

The Indonesian government has already imposed a temporary ban on letting domestic workers travel to several countries in the world, including some GCC countries.