Blue-collar workers get salary in coins

Lahore: Blue-collar workers in Pakistan are facing difficulty in carrying home their monthly salaries nowadays.

It’s not that they have started getting hefty packages, but the banks are paying them their salaries in five rupee coins.

The State Bank of Pakistan has reportedly advised other banks to circulate the five rupees coins among their account holders, particularly those holding small accounts.

If one’s monthly salary is Rs 3000, the bank staff gives him Rs 500 in five rupees coins (introduced a few months ago), and the rest in notes of larger denominations, reported the Daily Times.

In a bid to resolve the problem, bank managers advised the employees of various departments to apply for an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) card.

However, because majority of such employees are illiterate, operating an ATM card would also turn out to be a difficult task for them.

The big account holders are not ready to compromise their ease of transaction and usually threaten the bank management with closing down their bank accounts and moving to another banks.

As a result, the banks’ management avoids offending large account holders, said the paper.

Similarly, introduction of new currency in Pakistan in the denominations of Rs 5000 and Rs 20, has also aggravated the problems for its residents, who say that the move was totally uncalled for.

The adverse affects of the federal government’s move include, petrol pumps operators getting in a bind because of the Rs 5000 note, and parking areas charge increased from Rs 10 to Rs 20.

According to petrol pump owners, customers usually ask for a filling worth a small amount and produce the biggest denomination note of Rs 5000 for making the payment.

They said that the situation become awkward in the early morning hours or on the weekend when the banks are closed.

An attendant at a petrol pump was quoted as saying, "one customer gave his wristwatch as collateral for a gas filling of Rs 100, as he was carrying a currency note of Rs 5000 in the early morning hours. The wristwatch was handed over to him when he returned with a Rs 100 note."

According to the paper, with the introduction of the Rs 20 currency note, most of the parking area contractors in the city have started charging Rs 20 instead of the usual Rs 10.