Showing posts with label attitudes about labor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label attitudes about labor. Show all posts
Sunday, August 31, 2008
More on Locals in the Workforce
A comment on one of my previous posts stated that one problem in getting locals into the workforce was that local bosses do not want to hire them. There could be a number of reasons for this and many of them have been discussed here. However, in reading an older EmiratesEconomist post, I found myself wondering if bosses are loathe to hire locals because locals are harder to hold accountable institutionally and legally than foreigners. Why hire a local that you can't hold legally accountable or even fire in some cases when you can have a foreigner by the, um, passport?
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Oman Visa Restrictions
Economic Times of the India Times reports that the Omani Ministry of Manpower announced that it has stopped the issuance of visas for foreign laborers in a number of fields to work in Oman. These include tailoring, cleaning, import/export, electronic repair, textiles, and others. Existing visas will be renewed however.
In a questionable claim, a ministry official asserted "There is plenty of local talent but there's very little space available for them." I'd say there are plenty of Omanis available to do many of these jobs, but little existing talent in the fields. There will need to be a lengthy period of apprenticeship to transfer the existing knowledge from the expat workforce to Omanis in fields like tailoring and other skilled crafts.
The article also contained some statistics that back up some of my former assertions about the nature of the work force in Oman. According to Ministry statistics, Omanis fill 86 percent of jobs in most government sector departments. Yet in the private sector, Omanis rose from a paltry 14.7 percent in the 90s to only 16.8 percent in 2000. Undoubtedly the figure has risen in the eight years since, but the figure is still far too low for a country that is looking to create a sustainable post-oil economy.
Beyond stopping the influx of foreign laborers, Oman will have to wage a campaign to change attitudes toward these professions (especially cleaning and garbage removal), to ensure Omanis are taking advantage of the educational opportunities available to prepare them for these sectors, and to ensure that employers and current workers in the fields have an intelligent plan for apprenticeship and transfer of knowledge. Otherwise, the decision will die a quiet death of non-enforcement when employers realize that they cannot live with its provisions.
In a questionable claim, a ministry official asserted "There is plenty of local talent but there's very little space available for them." I'd say there are plenty of Omanis available to do many of these jobs, but little existing talent in the fields. There will need to be a lengthy period of apprenticeship to transfer the existing knowledge from the expat workforce to Omanis in fields like tailoring and other skilled crafts.
The article also contained some statistics that back up some of my former assertions about the nature of the work force in Oman. According to Ministry statistics, Omanis fill 86 percent of jobs in most government sector departments. Yet in the private sector, Omanis rose from a paltry 14.7 percent in the 90s to only 16.8 percent in 2000. Undoubtedly the figure has risen in the eight years since, but the figure is still far too low for a country that is looking to create a sustainable post-oil economy.
Beyond stopping the influx of foreign laborers, Oman will have to wage a campaign to change attitudes toward these professions (especially cleaning and garbage removal), to ensure Omanis are taking advantage of the educational opportunities available to prepare them for these sectors, and to ensure that employers and current workers in the fields have an intelligent plan for apprenticeship and transfer of knowledge. Otherwise, the decision will die a quiet death of non-enforcement when employers realize that they cannot live with its provisions.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Attitudes About Work and Expats
I have gotten myself into an argument about foreign workers in the Gulf, and specifically Oman, with a commenter on the Muscat Confidential blog. See the comments for this post.
I have very little respect for some Omanis' (and other Gulf Arabs') attitude of "if you don't like it, just get out." The reason why I have this lack of respect is because, while nearly every country is dependent on foreign labor to some extent, the dependence on foreign labor in the Gulf is nearly complete. These rapidly expanding economies surely need a larger than normal portion of foreign labor due to their small populations and high growth rates. This is normal. What is not normal are cultural attitudes toward work.
My final days in Oman give a good example of what I am talking about. The moving crew that boxed, wrapped, and carried my goods out of my place were from a number of Asian nations. They were very professional, hard-working, and congenial. I was far more satisfied with the work they did than I have been with any of the experiences I had moving around America. When it came time for them to crate all my goods on trucks, the obligatory Omani driver came out with a truck. At least in Oman, unlike a number of other Gulf countries, jobs like taxi and truck driving, and some non-labor intensive service jobs are done by Omanis in an attempt to decrease reliance on foreign labor. Yet, when the driver showed up to the house (and I had similar experiences in other situations with Omani truck drivers, so this is not a unique instance) he did not partake in any of the labor. He quickly realized that it was too hot outside for him to stand idly by, watching the foreign laborers carrying heavy boxes under the sun, so he asked if he could come inside and sit on my couch while they worked. So he sat there in his immaculate white dishdasha, text messaging on his cell phone while the rest of the crew toiled away.
Every once in a while I'd go from my tidying up inside to check on the progress outside and to take the workers some juice and water. Most of the time the Omani driver was on the couch, but twice I found him correcting something he didn't like about how the foreign laborers were working in the terms and tone one would use with a child. Of course, the workers had to stand and take his abuse in the most deferential of manners.
I cannot respect people who imagine that their culture and heritage makes them so much better than others that they cannot lower themselves to hard work. In this, I do not mean to say that all Arabs or all Omanis fall into this categorization, but I mean to say that I do not respect those who imagine themselves to be too good to work like others, whether those others are expat laborers or managers. Perhaps my thinking is skewed or I have an undue cultural bias, but to me, this mindset seems to be the most breathtaking sort of arrogance, and an incredible twist of logic coming from a people whose recent ancestors eked a living out of the harshest of environments through incredibly hard work.
The driver in question told me how hard it was to make enough money to live on these days as he sat idle on the couch while a dozen foreigners worked away. Imagine this. If each Omani driver took active part in the labor of moving boxes, or assembling deliveries, or whatever else the three foreigners packed in the cab with him do, instead of sitting idle while they do the work that is beneath him, the companies could do without one of those foreigners. With one less foreigner to pay (because the driver was now doing his job), they could afford to pay that driver more. Companies would be more productive and Omani drivers would be making more.
In the U.S., the driver of a delivery or moving truck works just as hard as the others. Often he or she is more experienced and is the supervisor, but a supervisor that works in lifting, moving, assembling, etc. There is no free ride. When I've been moved within the U.S., the driver of the moving truck has often been the owner of the tractor-trailer rig, which is an asset well in excess of $100,000. These driver-owners have been among the hardest working movers I've witnessed, sweating with the day laborers in order to raise their productivity and their profit. They are not making money while sitting idle.
Someday, the drivers and other workers in Oman and around the Gulf will have to realize that their culture and heritage do not truly excuse them from hard work. In fact, they should be proud of the hard lives their ancestors led and should resolve to do some hard work themselves, in the interest of improving their own lot and that of their country. When the majority start working as hard as the expats, I will have much more respect for the attitude "like it or leave it."
I have very little respect for some Omanis' (and other Gulf Arabs') attitude of "if you don't like it, just get out." The reason why I have this lack of respect is because, while nearly every country is dependent on foreign labor to some extent, the dependence on foreign labor in the Gulf is nearly complete. These rapidly expanding economies surely need a larger than normal portion of foreign labor due to their small populations and high growth rates. This is normal. What is not normal are cultural attitudes toward work.
My final days in Oman give a good example of what I am talking about. The moving crew that boxed, wrapped, and carried my goods out of my place were from a number of Asian nations. They were very professional, hard-working, and congenial. I was far more satisfied with the work they did than I have been with any of the experiences I had moving around America. When it came time for them to crate all my goods on trucks, the obligatory Omani driver came out with a truck. At least in Oman, unlike a number of other Gulf countries, jobs like taxi and truck driving, and some non-labor intensive service jobs are done by Omanis in an attempt to decrease reliance on foreign labor. Yet, when the driver showed up to the house (and I had similar experiences in other situations with Omani truck drivers, so this is not a unique instance) he did not partake in any of the labor. He quickly realized that it was too hot outside for him to stand idly by, watching the foreign laborers carrying heavy boxes under the sun, so he asked if he could come inside and sit on my couch while they worked. So he sat there in his immaculate white dishdasha, text messaging on his cell phone while the rest of the crew toiled away.
Every once in a while I'd go from my tidying up inside to check on the progress outside and to take the workers some juice and water. Most of the time the Omani driver was on the couch, but twice I found him correcting something he didn't like about how the foreign laborers were working in the terms and tone one would use with a child. Of course, the workers had to stand and take his abuse in the most deferential of manners.
I cannot respect people who imagine that their culture and heritage makes them so much better than others that they cannot lower themselves to hard work. In this, I do not mean to say that all Arabs or all Omanis fall into this categorization, but I mean to say that I do not respect those who imagine themselves to be too good to work like others, whether those others are expat laborers or managers. Perhaps my thinking is skewed or I have an undue cultural bias, but to me, this mindset seems to be the most breathtaking sort of arrogance, and an incredible twist of logic coming from a people whose recent ancestors eked a living out of the harshest of environments through incredibly hard work.
The driver in question told me how hard it was to make enough money to live on these days as he sat idle on the couch while a dozen foreigners worked away. Imagine this. If each Omani driver took active part in the labor of moving boxes, or assembling deliveries, or whatever else the three foreigners packed in the cab with him do, instead of sitting idle while they do the work that is beneath him, the companies could do without one of those foreigners. With one less foreigner to pay (because the driver was now doing his job), they could afford to pay that driver more. Companies would be more productive and Omani drivers would be making more.
In the U.S., the driver of a delivery or moving truck works just as hard as the others. Often he or she is more experienced and is the supervisor, but a supervisor that works in lifting, moving, assembling, etc. There is no free ride. When I've been moved within the U.S., the driver of the moving truck has often been the owner of the tractor-trailer rig, which is an asset well in excess of $100,000. These driver-owners have been among the hardest working movers I've witnessed, sweating with the day laborers in order to raise their productivity and their profit. They are not making money while sitting idle.
Someday, the drivers and other workers in Oman and around the Gulf will have to realize that their culture and heritage do not truly excuse them from hard work. In fact, they should be proud of the hard lives their ancestors led and should resolve to do some hard work themselves, in the interest of improving their own lot and that of their country. When the majority start working as hard as the expats, I will have much more respect for the attitude "like it or leave it."
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