UAE begins implementing wage protection system for domestic workers

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation announced the optional implementation of the wage protection system (WPS) for domestic workers starting tomorrow, allowing employers to pay the wages of this category of workers electronically through banks, exchange offices and approved financial institutions authorized to provide the service by the UAE Central Bank.

“The optional implementation of the WPS for domestic workers came as part of the ministry’s keenness on providing employers with distinguished services to help them easily pay domestic workers’ wages on time,” said Khalil Khoury, Assistant Undersecretary for Domestic Worker Affairs at Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.

The decision also helps employers prove the payment of wages, thereby greatly contributing to a stable relationship between employers and workers, he added.

The system applies to all professions under domestic workers including workers, sailors, housemaids, cooks, security guards, family drivers, shepherds, falcon caretakers, housekeepers, farmers, gardeners, private coaches, private teachers, private nurses, private representatives and private agricultural engineers, he said.

Khoury affirmed that the implementation of the WPS would prove successful, particularly after the ministry and its partners acquired the necessary experience to run the system, which was applied to private sector employees since 2009 and had a great positive effect on stable and transparent work relation between private sector employers and employees.