A total of 42,418 establishments join WPS, including 6 million workers last year: MLSD

The Ministry of Labor and Social Development (MLSD) revealed the number of establishments that joined the Wage Protection System (WPS) in 2017 stood at 42,418, which included all establishments with workforce of over 30 workers.

Last year, wage files of 6,154,636 workers were uploaded on the system, according to the data released from the ministry.

Khaled Abalkhail, spokesman for the MLSD, said the ministry is keen to implement the WPS on all private firms to ensure wages are paid on time, define wage scales for all occupations and reduce labor issues between employers and workers. He stressed the ministry would not lose momentum to implement the system on every firm as timetables are set forth.

According to the sanctions and penalties mentioned in the labor law, if the establishment fails to pay workers’ wages, it will be fined SR3,000 which can be increased by the number of workers working at the same violating establishment, Abalkhail said as well.

The establishment is penalized with a SR10,000 fine when it fails to upload wage files on a monthly basis, the spokesman added.

Abalkhail added if the employer fails to upload wage files on the system within two months from the date of the enforcement, he would be banned from the ministry’s services, except for issuance or renewal of work permits.

The labor official said If the establishment is late to upload them for three months, it will be denied access to all the ministry’s services, and the workers can transfer their services to other establishments without their former employer’s approval and despite their valid work permits, the spokesman said further.

Meanwhile, the MLSD urges the establishments to upload wage files of their workers on the WPS through logging into their account registered with the ministry’s website.

Additionally, the employers can visit the ministry’s website and review upcoming phases of implementing the WPS. They can also register with the program in advance as the demo registration will not result in imposing any sanctions on them.

For more information, they can download the WPS Guide from the ministry’s portal (www.mlsd.gov.sa).