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Wages Protection System ( The
system, developed by the Central Bank of the UAE, allows the Ministry of Labour
to create a database that records wage payments in
the private sector to guarantee the timely and full payment of agreed-upon
wages. The
WPS covers all institutions registered with the Ministry across all sectors and
industries and will benefit different categories of labour. The
WPS targets the following parties from the Ministry partners: ·
Workers: each and
every individual who works in the private sector in return for agreed-upon
wages and who has a labour card issued by the Ministry; ·
Employers: whoever owns
a company or institution registered with the Ministry and hires one or more
workers in return for agreed-upon wages; ·
Banks: the
financial institution which the employer has a bank account with,, that is used to transfer the wages amount through WPS to
the appointed agent to distribute to the labours. ·
Agent: any bank,
bureau de change, or financial institution approved and authorized by the
Central Bank of the UAE to offer wages payment services via WPS. The Central
Bank of the UAE will issue a regularly updated list showing names of approved and
authorized agents. Joining WPS requires: 1.
The company needs to be registered with the Ministry; 2.
The company should have a bank account with one of the
banks operating in the UAE; 3.
The company should enter into contract with any bank,
bureau de change or financial institution approved and authorized by the
Central Bank of the UAE to provide the service. The two parties shall agree on
any service fees and charges. 4.
Workers’ wages will be transferred via Deadlines for institutions to start
transferring workers' wages via WPS
*The periods
granted to comply with the new system and start transferring workers' wages via
WPS will not apply to institutions which were already denied new work permits when the
Ministerial Resolution 788 for 2009 was issued for failing to pay workers'
wages on time, nor to institutions which failed to pay workers' wages for one
month or more after the Ministerial Resolution was issued. 5.
The institution will have to transfer workers' wages via
WPS within two weeks of their due date, or on the dates specified in the
work contract if wages are paid more frequently than monthly. 6.
The employer will be responsible for all expenses incurred upon joining
WPS, including bank fees, service provider charges, and all other costs.
Employers are not allowed to share any costs with workers' by any means,
including deducting from their wages, directly or indirectly. The mechanism to apply for WPS
is as below: The WPS applying mechanism is as below: ·
The company shall open an
account with one of the banks operating in the country, in case it doesn’t have
one upon joining the ·
The company shall enter into
contract with a ·
The employer shall issue
instructions to its bank to transfer wages to workers. Instructions shall be
accompanied by a detailed wages list and a copy of the list shall be sent to
the agent. ·
The ·
The Consequences of failing to join WPS ·
Institutions failing to
transfer workers' wages by the deadlines specified above will be denied the
right to have new work permits. This ban will only be lifted in the month
following the transfer of workers' wages in full. §
Institutions
that delay wages’ payment more than one month of the due date will be denied
the right to have new work permits, along with all institutions owned by the
owner of the violating institution, and to refer all those responsible for the
violation to the court, in accordance with Ministerial Resolution No. 788 of
2009. For inquiries about ways of joining WPS ·
Employers: can call
the Ministry of Labour toll-free number 800-665 or send an email to: wps@mol.gov.ae. ·
Banks, bureaux
de change and financial institutions providing the service: can write
to the Central Bank of the UAE on the following email address: wps@cbuae.gov.ae Payment of Workers' Wages Declaration Name of institution/company: -----------------------------------------------
TradeRegistration Number: ----------------------------- Area:
------------------------------------ Street: ------------------------------------------ Building:
------------------------------------------- Telephone:
--------------------------------- Fax: ------------------------------------------ Mobile:
-------------------------------------------- Due Month:
I, the undersigned,
------------------------------------------------------------------------, (title:
----------------), as the authorized signatory of the institution/company
declare that I have read and understood all the provisions stipulated in the
Cabinet Decree No. 788 of 2009 on the Protection of Wages, and that I am fully
aware of the penal code and other laws that regulate this declaration. I declare that: 1.
All
workers' wages, as stated above, have been paid in full without any deductions
that violate the provisions of the Labour Law. 2.
Non-payment
of workers' wages in certain cases is in accordance with the Labour Law and
respective work contracts. I also declare that all information
mentioned above is correct and I understand that I may face civil and criminal
liabilities for any of the information provided proves to be false. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Day:
Date: Name: Title: Signature: Ministerial Decree No.
(788)
of 2009 on
Protection of Wages After perusal of Federal Law
No.
(1) of 1972 concerning the jurisdictions of Ministries and power
s
of Ministers and the amending laws thereto; and The Federal Law No.
(8) of 1980 concerning the Regulation of
Labour Relations
and the amending laws thereto; and
The
UAE Federal Penal Code promulgated by the Federal Law No. (3) of 1987 and the amending laws thereto; and The
Cabinet Decree No. 133/1 of 2007 which makes it mandatory for institutions and
companies to transfer their workers' wages via banks; and
The Ministerial
Decree No. (156) of 2003 on the Protection of Wages; and
The briefing given by the acting Undersecretary of the
Ministry; The Minister of Labour hereby promulgates the following
Decree: Article (1) All institutions
registered with the Ministry must pay their workers' wages once a month, at
least, or on the dates specified in the work contract if wages are paid more
frequently than monthly. The payment of wages should comply with the procedures
and dates specified in this Decree. The institutions should, when requested,
present all supporting documents that wages have been paid.
Article (2) All institutions
mentioned in Article (1) of this Decree must, as of 1 September 2009, start
transferring all its workers' wages to the banks and financial institutions
working in the UAE via the Wages Protection System (WPS). The payment process
should be made by the deadlines specified in Article (3) of this Decree.
Article (3) All institutions
mentioned in Article (1) of this Decree should transfer their workers' wages
via WPS by the deadlines below:
The above-mentioned periods shall not apply to:
1.
Institutions which were already denied new work permits when the Decree
was issued for failing to pay workers' wages on time; 2.
Institutions which failed to pay their workers' wages for one
month or more after this Decree was issued. Institutions
mentioned in items (1) and (2) above should start transferring wages in
accordance with Article (2) of this Decree in order the lift the ban imposed on
issuing new work permits, without prejudice to imposing other penalties on the
institution in question. Article (4) Institutions
failing to transfer their workers' wages in compliance with Article (2) of this
Decree and within the periods specified in Article (3) of the same Decree will
be denied the right to have new work permits. This ban will only be lifted in
the month following the transfer of workers' wages in full. Article (5) Until the workers'
wages are transferred in compliance with Article (2) of this Decree, it is
mandatory for institutions with fifty workers or more to submit a monthly
declaration as per the form attached to this decree.
Nonetheless, the Undersecretary
of the Ministry, or whoever is delegated to task, may apply Paragraph 1 of this
Article to other institutions or exempt others from the provisions of the same
Paragraph.
Article (6) The declaration
stipulated in Article (5) of this Decree should be submitted within two weeks
from the wages' due date and in accordance with the procedures decided by the
Undersecretary of the Ministry. Article (7) Taking into
consideration Article (8) and Article (9) of this Decree, the authorized
signatory of the institution will submit the declaration stipulated in Article
(5) of this Decree, and will be held responsible for the information and data
contained in the declaration, and may face civil and criminal liabilities for
any violations. Article (8) If the Ministry
is certain and assured that one of the following violations has occurred: (a) Wages
are not paid within a month of their due date; (b) The declaration,
stipulated in Article (5) of this Decree, has not been submitted within a month
of the wages' due date and
taking into
consideration the provisions of other Cabinet Decrees pertaining to other
administrative procedures, the institution in question shall be denied the
right to have a new work permit for the following periods: ·
Until the violation is rectified (the first violation);
·
For one month after the violation is rectified (second violation);
·
For two months after the violation is rectified (third violation);
·
For three months after the violation is rectified (fourth violation).
If the Ministry
arrives at a conclusion that the different bans mentioned above have been to no
avail, it may, at its own discretion, decide to impose a ban on issuing any
work permits to all institutions owned by the owner of the violating
institution, provided they are owned by the same partners, and to refer all
those responsible for the violation to the court. The ban shall persist until
after the court proceedings or the violation is rectified, whichever comes
first.
Article
(9) If the Ministry is
certain and assured that the declaration, stipulated in Article (5) of this
Decree, provides false information, the institution in question shall be denied
the right to have a new work permit, and all those responsible for the false
information shall be prosecuted, while the ban on work permits shall remain in
force until after the court proceedings.
Article
(10) This Decree shall
annul, as of the date it comes into force, the above-mentioned Cabinet Decree
(156) of 2003 which makes it mandatory for the institutions to submit a
certificate issued by an auditor.
Article
(11) This Decree shall
be published in the Official Gazette and shall enter into
force as of September 1, 2009. Saqr Ghobash
Saeed Ghobash Minister of Labour Issued in Agents Listtest | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
