Three senior staff at Palm Beach Resort in Lhaviyani Atoll have been dismissed after 50 staff staged a strike over alleged discriminatory polices at the resort.
According to a staff member on strike at Palm Beach, 50 housekeeping and food and beverage personnel at the resort stopped work at 10:00pm on Tuesday night following a public dispute between General Manager Fabrizio Dani and Restaurant Manager Ali Ashraf.
“We are calling for the removal of general manager from the resort also calling for an end to discriminatory policies between the European and Maldivian staff here,” Ahmed Abdulla told Minivan News.
He claimed the Maldivian staff were fed poor quality food compared to their European colleagues and said the management had failed to provide adequate arrangements for breakfast during Ramadan.
“We were not even given dates to break our fasts,” he said. “We will continue with our strike until demands are met.”
There have been no negotiations between the workers on strike and the management yet, Abdulla said.
In addition to Ashraf, Assistant Manager Ilyas Ibrahim and Supervisor Abdulla Mohamed were dismissed last night. The three have now left the resort.
Speaking to Minivan News, Ashraf said his dismissal had been “unfair.” He alleged the management of Palm Beach resort employed Russians, Italians, and Bangladeshi workers without work visas.
He also claimed the resort’s management had failed to sign employment contracts with the staff and were not paid for overtime work.
Minivan News was unable to contact either Fabrizio Dani or Palm Beach Resort despite repeated attempts.
In March, 18 members of staff at Vilu Reef Resort were fired after a petition detailing grievances. Workers at Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) also staged a strike in the same month over low quality of food and cuts to annual bonus pay outs.
Maldivian staff at One and Only Reethi Rah also held a strike in January over alleged ill-treatment by the management.
In a similar case in September 2013, staff at Irufushi Beach and Spa resort reported a “firing spree” affecting staff members professing to support the Maldivian Democratic Party.
According to the Freedom of Peaceful Assembly Act 2013, tourist resorts, ports, and airports fall into a category of places in which protests are prohibited.
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Some people realise the hard reality a little too late.
Mordisian unemployment rate is in double digits. Employees have an upper hand and can dismiss if they deem the employee is more an issue than an asset.
Mordis is a LDC with just a bare, delicate, pathetic infrastructure. There are no laws, ethics, morals, dedication, commitment, loyalty to speak of, from either side of the employment table. The government, the health sector, the transport and the judiciary are in shambles.
With numerous holidays, countless coffee-breaks, lethargic Ramadan work hours, the employees rather prefer expats, who commits more time to the job.
The only setup worth a while are the telecom companies, doing a good job in an very dispersed geography. At least most can communicate and browse basic internet, using the smart phones' penetration which btw rivals even the developed countries.
Andrew, I am so proud we have good telecom matching developed countries. Let's not discuss other issues.
@Andrew. Vow you hate us so much . But i tell u Maldives are far better than any of the other SAARC countries in terms in development.
@Hero
You mean how you well can skim off funds that belongs to the people into your pockets and swiss bank accounts, right?
Development is meaningless if it serves you 1%s.
@Andrew:
It surprises me that you did not take in to account the fact that Maldivians are a 100% Muslim country. Paradise awaits the Maldivinas. Even the Apostasies get there ultimately. So, why the worldly pleasures? Never mind this life. Deal with it as it goes, life yet awaits us all!!!
Hero , come out of the well you are in , Maldives is one of the LEAST DEVELOPED countries among SAARC family. obviously you have not travelled to other countries. i totally agree with Andrew. areas you can even be in par or superceed other countries are corruption , idiotic politicians and ofcourse judges who misbehave and get away unscratch !
@Andrew! That is absurd what you have written. Maldivians just CANNOT be treated differently from foreign personnel. THis is absolutely a HUMAN RIGHTS issue!
I do not condone the strike @ Palm Beach, but your comments just IGNORE the core problem, which is INEQUALITY, UNFAIRNESS.
Whichever part of the world you come from, there are problems with various segments of the business, BUT by trying to ignore the core issue and trying to criticize the Maldivian in general, is extremely unfair and sad...
It is a KNOWN fact that Palm Beach Operating Manager - Sporting Holidays is a totally biased and crude organization AND the management does NOT care for the Maldivians and Bangladeshis. Also, they flout the LAW completely vis a vis unauthorized European personnel employment.
People like Andrew hate so much Maldivian and they want Maldivian staffs to suffer .
Those staffs who had courage to go on srike should not do it since Maldivian are 3rd class human being.
Check the wold corruption Index and India is much higher than Maldives.
India 60%, Bagledshi, 80% of their population lives below poverty line and they earn only a dollar per day .
Such a shame - when will the management wake up and realize that they get their salaries through the hard work of the staff at resorts - equal pay and benefits for all -- it cannot be that difficult as it is an all-inclusive resort.....
Hero got his education in some madras,so he can't comprehend-humanities,capitalism,cooperation or coexistence, man which world are you living in capitalism is the economic s of the day.Capitalists get all the profit and labourers do all the scrappy work,if you aren't satisfied with your pay and free to leave or be fired(I don't support such apology but this is the universal truth,and maldives in deep debt and economic turmoil can't go against the rampaging capitalist philosophy
After all this time and considering that tourism is the daily bread to this country - problems like this should have came further by now.
Simply speaking:
Same level of position = equal treatment, equal pay, equal quality food, equal accommodation, equal respect....
Independently of nationality!!
Starting practicing favorable difference - you are asking for trouble.
Be fair and equal - a resort operation is a joint team effort.
correction what i meant was this,Hero got his education in some madrassa,so he can’t comprehend-humanities,capitalism,cooperation or coexistence, man which world are you living in capitalism is the economic's of the day.Capitalists get all the profit and labourers do all the scrappy work,if you aren't satisfied with your pay,you are free to leave or be fired(I don’t support such a policy) but this is the universal truth,and maldives in deep debt and economic turmoil can’t go against the rampaging capitalist philosophy