President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the Resolution “On Additional Measures for Improvement of Wage, Pensions, Welfare Benefits and Stipend Payment Mechanisms.”
The resolution outlines unprecedented steps to secure the rights and interests of pensioners, students and other socially vulnerable groups, who will now have fewer hurdles in paying for goods and services across Uzbekistan.
The resolution follows a study on wage and social benefits payments in Uzbekistan’s regions. Claims lodged with the President’s Virtual Reception have revealed increasing cases of late payments and ungrounded cashless payments, underscoring the still undeveloped POS terminals.
Over 7,000 claims have been lodged with the Virtual Reception since it was launched on September 27, 2016.
The resolution aims at addressing this issue, starting from February, by providing for pensions to be paid fully in cash; providing for budget organizations’ wages and social benefits in 58 mountainous and rural areas to be paid fully in cash; and providing for no less than 50% of individual student stipends to be paid in cash.
The Finance Ministry, Pensions Fund, and postal offices have been tasked with making regular payments on or before the 27th day of each month.
Cash-to-non-cash proportions for wages will be revised, tailoring citizens’ payment possibilities to the POS terminal infrastructure.
The Central Bank is expected to stir commercial banks to tackle any flaws in wage and social benefits payments. Businesses will now be able to withdraw money from banks at first request.
The payment processes will now be overseen by the General Prosecution Office, which will hold commercial banks liable for any violations.
The resolution also laid the groundwork for a payment system that will ensure that money from trade and service will be transferred to commercial banks in due time. This will, in turn, provide for timely wage and social benefits payments.
The Presidential Resolution will address the problems concerning wage and social payments and will uphold citizens’ rights to timely payment in whatever means they request. (UzReport/Business World Magazine)
