KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday allowed disbursement of wages and salaries for the month of July to be made before Eidul Azha under its Rozgar Scheme.

Wages to be given under Rozgar Scheme ahead of Eid.

Earlier, banks were required to disburse salaries according to the cycle used by businesses which is typically after the completion of the month. “Now the businesses may avail financing to pay wages and salaries for the month of July or get reimbursement after paying wages,” the SBP said.

The central bank has also provided flexibility to the businesses by allowing them to avail financing from more than one bank. Businesses were facing difficulty in availing financing from one bank due to their credit limits or other reasons.

However, businesses cannot avail financing for a specific month from more than one bank.

Rozgar Scheme — introduced in April this year to avoid layoffs of employees — provides concessional financing to businesses. Initially it was available for three months (April-June) but was subsequently extended for another three months till end September 2020.

“Under the scheme, up till July 17, financing of Rs128.6 billion has been approved by banks for 2141 businesses covering wages and salaries of over 1.25 million employees,” said the SBP.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2020