3,000 expats get support through new salary protection system

The first phase of the salary protection system — a new set of rules that will allow the Ministry of Labor to ensure whether expatriate workers have received their monthly salaries — has begun with 3,000 expatriate workers in private companies.
Talat Zaki Hafiz, secretary-general of the Media and Banking Awareness Committee, said the new system has been implemented by the Ministry of Labor in cooperation with Saudi banks and the private sector.
All private companies are required to transfer their employees’ salaries into their bank accounts on time. The ministry has launched the new system to protect expat workers’ rights and ensure all companies meet the terms of their workers’ employment contracts.
Saudi banks already have a mechanism to deal with salaries; it is called the “salary product.”
Private companies have also sent a list of their employees to Saudi banks to open new accounts. However, expatriate employees who receive their salaries in their bank accounts will not be able to withdraw money if their iqamas have expired.
“The account must have credibility and legitimacy through the validity of the client’s documents,” he said. “The banks communicate with clients before their accounts are frozen.”
According to banking policies in the Kingdom, the accounts of customers whose identification documents have expired are frozen.
Hafiz denied any plans to keep expat workers’ bank account under the supervision of the Passport Department to restrict remittances to home countries.