The Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASMEK) asked the Minister of State for Economic and Social Affairs, Mariam A. Al-Aqeel, that given the difficulties facing small companies due to the coronavirus crisis, the demand for requesting the salary certificate as part of the residency procedures, to be suspended even if temporarily for 6 months, until new legislation and amending conditions was introduced, reports Al Qabas daily.
The Association expressed its regret that the Ministry of State for Economic and Labor Affairs did not consider the plight of the owners of small and medium enterprises in light of the coronavirus crisis the whole world is going through, according to the statement issued by the association. The representative said that all enterprises are suffering and are struggling to survive with many finding it difficult to pay salaries, and their predicament was clearly known by the Ministry.
The owners of these enterprises at this time need to focus on adjusting their financial positions, and work to revive these projects and study the effects of this coronavirus crisis and the resulting consequences. The association hinted that employers are awaiting laws and legislation regarding the labor law and the rent law, and noted that instead of cooperating and facilitating procedures for business owners, they are instead stopping their files at the Ministry of Affairs over salary certificates due to nonpayment of full salaries to workers.
The association considered that the measures taken to end the transactions of owners of small projects, including demanding a form or delivery of rental bonds, are not acceptable by reason or logic. It is necessity to stop these procedures during this exceptional situation, with the need to support the owners of the companies instead of using injustice methods, arbitrariness, and the obligation of the employer to hand over full salaries, despite the Ministry’s knowledge of all these circumstances.