RIYADH – The Ministry of Labor will require companies with more than 3,000 workers as well as private schools for boys and girls and kindergartens to implement the wage protection program by the end of this month, said Dr. Abdullah Abu Ethnain, undersecretary for work environment development in a press statement on Sunday. Dr. Abu Ethnain said companies and private schools will have to send written proofs to the ministry showing that they have paid wages to their staff. The ministry is currently checking the program before it enforces it on all businesses. The program monitors the wages and salaries of Saudi and expatriate employees working in the private sector to ensure that their employers are paying them on time. Dr. Abu Ethnain said the program seeks to provide a safe work environment for private sector employees and guarantee their rights and the rights of employers as well. It also seeks to reduce labor problems between workers and employers, especially those related to financial disputes. The program will also help the ministry discover tasatur cases and find workers who are violating residency laws. Businesses will have to open a bank account and provide their employees with ATM cards. They also have to obtain the wage file from the bank in order to register in the program at www.emol.gov.sa and send their employees' wage information to the ministry's website. Businesses are required to update their information at the ministry's website in case of any change in the information provided earlier. Dr. Abu Ethnain has called on all businesses to provide information about their staff to the ministry's website, warning violators that the ministry will impose strict penalties on them and will suspend their services. He urged them to visit http://emol.gov.sa/wps or call 920001171 for more information. – SG/SPA
