DOLE Advocates For E-Payment Of Salaries

DOLE Advocates For E-Payment Of Salaries

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is supporting a campaign that is pushing for the e-payment of wages. This will ensure workers are properly paid by their employers and promote the financial inclusion of workers. DOLE will be promoting this initiative in partnership with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)

Labor Undersecretary Claro Arellano said this initiative is part of the country’s commitment to pursue a state wherein there is effective access to a wide range of financial products by all. 

Arellano cited the 2017 Global Findex report stating only 6.6 percent of the country’s private sector wage earners receive their salaries through a formal account or e-money account operated by a financial institution. 

He also pointed out that low financial inclusion among the wage earners may be a source of abuse against the workers and violations of labor laws, due to the difficulty in verifying and validating the payment of correct wages and other mandatory benefits. Thus they at DOLE are pushing for electronic payment of salaries through formal accounts. 

Manual cash disbursements shouldn’t be practiced by companies anymore. They should open formal accounts for payment of wages to enable easier verification and validation. However, he also acknowledged that there are still no laws or regulations that require this month of payment for salaries. 

With the electronic payment for salaries, it would cut the overhead cost, the transaction, administration. It will also reduce the incidence of leakages during the disbursements. On top of all that, this will grant easy access to financial products like savings, insurance, investment, and even credit. 

Among the sectors identified by the Financial Inclusion Steering Committee to immediately benefit from the electronic payment of wages are the construction workers, bus drivers and conductors, as well as kasambahay, factory workers, and workers in the retail and service industries. 

[Source]

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