Chief Labour Officer Mohamed Akeel says all commercial enterprises that employ labour are required by law to register with the ministry as failure to do so constitutes a breach of the labour laws.

According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release Akeel also pointed out that failure to register will not prevent labour officers from inspecting an enterprise. Inspections identify delinquent employers who are then invited to attend the ministry’s educational programmes geared to improve their knowledge of the labour laws.

The ministry will be focusing on production and productivity when it holds training seminars for employers as human and other resources are not being utilized efficiently. “Many businesses are going under or are stagnated because they fail to employ ‘best practices’ when employing resources,” Akeel said, adding that this could be detrimental to the economy since it could create unemployment and lead to the closure of industries.

Akeel also expressed concern about the number of complaints coming from persons employed in the hospitality industry. Complaints from this industry numbered 246 last year and included failure to pay wages, to pay in lieu of notice and produce record of wages.

According to GINA the labour ministry last year merged the Labour and Occupational Safety and Health Departments and retrained its inspectors, making it possible for one person to inspect all breaches at worksites. This move increased the number of worksites inspected from 650 in 2006 to 2,278 in 2007.