The Ministry of Labor will begin implementing the fourth stage of the wage protection system (WPS) for companies with 500 employees or more, starting next week.

The undersecretary of the Ministry of Labor for Inspection and Development of the Work Environment, Abdullah Abuthonin, said the ministry allows each company in the private sector to register in the new program before the mandatory implementation stage, giving them enough time to organize themselves.

Abuthonin said the ministry is following up on the previous stages that were already implemented, and will report on outcomes. He called on all companies to register with the program as soon as possible, including companies that have been shut down in order to lift their suspensions.

He said the aim of the ministry is to ensure wages are paid on time, and that the ministry will continue to monitor the program through inspections.

The WPS is an online database that is updated by employers with wage information for their employees in the private sector. The program ensures agreed amount of wages are paid in a timely manner by comparing data available at the Ministry of Labor with reports delivered by local banks.

The undersecretary of the Ministry of Labor declared that the first, second and third phases were applied to companies with work forces of 3,000, 2,000 and 1,000 employees or more, amounting to 731 facilities and more than 1.9 million workers.

With regard to private schools, he said 55 percent of about 1,301 schools have registered and have been committed to the programs. Schools that failed to comply with the programs have had services stopped.

Companies that fail to provide personnel data within two months of the implementation date will have services cut off by the Ministry, with the exception of work permit renewals. Companies that are more than three months behind schedule will have all services suspended, and workers will be permitted to transfer their services to other facilities without obtaining the consent of their current employers, even if their work permits have not expired.

 
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