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29 March 2024

Workers can choose any bank to open accounts

Workers are allowed to open accounts with any bank they choose. (FILE)

Published
By Mohammed Al Sadafy

Workers have every right to open an account in a bank of his choice and the employer cannot interfere in this matter, a senior official has said..

Humaid Bin Dimas, Executive Director of Labour Affairs at the Ministry of Affairs said while the worker has to pay for opening his bank account, salaries are transferred at the cost of the employer.

The freedom to choose any bank to open an account is part of the provisions in the Wage Protection System created by the ministry to ensure salaries are paid promptly, he said.

The issue was raised at the weekly open house at the ministry when a worker complained that his employer wanted to transfer the salary to the bank the company was dealing with to avoid paying the related fees.

Addressing another case in which a company representative raised the request of a worker who sought cash payment of his wages, Dimas said such issues need to be handled with a written request from the worker. He further said he seldom see such instances especially since all workers want their wages to be transferred to bank accounts.

In another case he asked an employer to deposit the end of service benefits of a security guard who was asked to leave his company accommodation. He said the worker was obliged to vacate the premises within a month of getting the employer depositing the cheque.

To a request by a company to allot replacements to two workers – one in jail and the second an absconder – Dimas said the ministry have to verify the matter after studying a detailed report to be submitted by the employer.

The official rejected a plea by a worker who overstayed for a year after being released from jail to correct his residential status through his former employer. Since he violated the labour and residency laws, the worker automatically gets a year’s ban.