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Resort workers union concerned over police detention of executive committee members

The Tourism Employees Association of Maldives (TEAM) has criticised police for arresting two of its executive committee members who attempted to travel to the One & Only Reethi Rah resort, following a High Court order reinstating them as workers at the property.

TEAM Secretary General Mauroof Zakir told Minivan News that Mohamed Khalid and Ali Muaz were detained by police on Thursday (May 30) while trying to catch the resort staff ferry. He said both men had remained in custody until being released by the Criminal Court today.

Both men were dismissed from the resort in 2009 over allegations of attacking the property’s then general manager – although no charges were filed at the time, TEAM has claimed.

A police media official today confirmed that the two men were detained by officers on Thursday for “interrupting the schedule” of the Reethi Rah staff ferry and had been held in custody for five days while investigations continued into the matter.

A spokesperson for operator Reethi Rah Resort Pvt Ltd (RRR) meanwhile said the company had not been notified of Khalid or Muiz’s plans to “visit” the property or received advance notice of their attempts to return to work on the site.

“RRR wishes to note that pursuant to applicable laws and practice, it is an offence to trespass on resorts and private property, by any person, without the consent of the owner,” the company stated.

RRR claimed that in the cases where it had reinstated “certain individuals from TEAM” following civil litigation, the workers had later refused to turn up to work.

“Despite not turning up for work after re-instatement, they claimed full salary and benefits, which has been paid to them without fail,” the company stated.

RRR said that it was presently the defendant in ongoing lawsuits filed by individual members of TEAM who had contested their reinstatement at the property.

The company noted that the individuals in question continued to claim they had not been reinstated, despite taking “salaries and benefits from RRR which only employees are entitled to”.

Court order

However, TEAM Secretary General Mauroof today accused management at One & Only of continually failing to comply with a High Court order requesting the reinstatement of nine staff members – including himself – over allegations they were unfairly dismissed back in 2009.

He claimed that RRR had previously issued a letter of reinstatement for Khalid and Muaz to return to the resort, but provided them with new positions in which they had no experience of working. TEAM said that the Civil Court as a result had previously fined the resort operator for failing to reinstate both workers to their previous positions as waiters at the property.

Following Khalid and Muiz’s arrests last week, Mauroof alleged that it was not the first time that police had attempted to stop the two men from boarding the staff ferry to travel to the resort, despite the Employment Tribunal ruling back in July 2009 that both men be reinstated to their former roles at the property. He said the Employment Tribunal ruling was later backed by High Court.

According to TEAM, as well as ordering the reinstatement of the nine workers dismissed from One & Only Reethi Rah back in April 2009, the resort had also been ordered to pay them their basic back salary and service charges up to September 2012.

TEAM said that it continued to seek negotiations with management at RRR over the issue of reinstating the dismissed staff to their former positions. With court cases continuing into the matter, Mauroof claimed that the resort owner was running out of ground to legally appeal its case, calling on the company to reinstate both men in line with the court order.

In the meantime, TEAM has said that Khalid and Muaz would “continue to fight” to return to work at the resort within the country’s laws and regulations, adding that they would again attempt to travel to the resort on the staff ferry.

With legal wrangling between RRR and TEAM over the staff dismissals continuing for the last four years, Mauroof said that the case remained vitally important to the dismissed workers. He said that amidst fears concerning unemployment rates in the country, the dismissed wished to return to their jobs for fear they might not be able to find positions at other properties in the country.

Industry fears

Despite the Maldives ratification this year of ILO eight “fundamental” International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions, TEAM said it continued to be concerned about the rate of “unfair dismissals” across the resort industry.

While accepting that the country’s local workforce needed to be more “cooperative” with resort management, Mauroof accused some companies – particularly smaller local hospitality groups – of trying to keep workers “in the dark” regarding their rights.

“No one wants to lose their jobs in the industry, but we see some resorts trying to keep staff in constant fear that they face termination from their jobs,” he said.

Mauroof claimed that there were particular concerns over job security among staff working for local hotels groups, rather then multinationals and larger resort operators such as One & Only, which he said had a much better track record.

Minivan News was awaiting the response of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture at time of press if it had taken a role in the dispute between RRR and TEAM.

Rights monitoring

Deputy Tourism Minister Mohamed Maleeh Jamal said earlier this month that the tourism ministry closely monitored working standards and staff treatment across the industry.

Malle claimed at the time that from the ministry’s experience, the vast majority of the country’s resort workers and management were all working together to benefit the wider industry.

“If there is an issue, we will go and inspect resorts and make sure staff are being treated in line within the stipulated requirements,” he said.

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Government cuts costs of foreign missions, sacks staff

The government is cutting the costs of its 13 overseas missions, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Abdul Samad Abdulla told local media today.

“Foreign mission expenses are very high. In addition to the salaries, a large sum is spent on rent for officials,” Samad said, noting that the Maldives spent MRV 3.5 million (US$227,000) a year just on rent for some employees based overseas.

As well as curtailing maintenance of some missions, Samad said Councillor at the high commission in Malaysia, Hassan Khalid, and Deputy High Commissioner of the Maldives to India Khadeeja Ibrahim had also been dismissed “after serious deliberation”, Samad said,

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O’Level pass rate improves 10 percent on 2011

The Education Ministry has announced a 10 percent improvement in Cambridge O’Level examination pass rates for 2012.

President Mohamed Waheed claimed the results were due to education sector improvements, while former Education Minister Musthafa Luthfy claimed that these policies were enacted under the previous government.

The Education Ministry announced 2012’s Cambridge O’Level (grade 10) examination results on Saturday (May 25), noting that 31 students achieved global top 10 rankings, with five of these students having the “highest results worldwide” in various subject areas, according to local media.

The five students who achieved O’Level scores categorised as some of the “highest in the world” were presented with a prize and newly created presidential medal by President Waheed.

Additionally, 426 students achieved local top 10 rankings, meaning they achieved high scores in various subjects compared to other test takers in the Maldives.

“The number of students who passed five subjects was at 46 percent last year, whilst in 2011 it was at 37 percent,” said Education Minister Dr Asim Ahmed.

Receiving a ‘C’ or above in five subjects is considered a pass.

The the number of students who passed eight subjects increased two percent, from 17 in 2011 to 19 percent in 2012.

Overall 8,456 students in the Maldives participated in the 2012 exams, an increase from 6,100 in 2011.

Announcement of marks delayed

Preliminary results for the 2012’s Cambridge O’Level examination were not released sooner due to “difficulties” in analysis, the Ministry of Education said earlier this year, despite claiming “one of the highest pass rates to date”.

O’Level exams began in early October and concluded in late November 2012, the Education Ministry’s Department of Examinations (DPE) Director General Ibrahim Shakeeb told Minvian News.

“This is just how the process is; 90 days after the final exam session the preliminary results are available. Candidates can then ask to have their marks rechecked, which takes about a month,” Shakeeb explained.

“Students have a week or two to apply for rechecking, once the [preliminary] results are issued,” he continued. “Then the exams are sent to Cambridge.”

Preliminary O’Level exam results were issued to students at the end of January 2013.

“There were quite a large number of requests for rechecking, so it took Cambridge over a month to respond,” said Shakeeb.

“Final results are only issued after the recheck is complete. Cambridge does not release results country by country, rather [marks] are released online, globally,” he noted.

“Three to four months for the process to be completed is the norm,” he added.

Shakeeb told Minivan News earlier this year that the recheck process was ongoing and estimated it would be completed around late March.

Students are currently “in the middle” of the A’Level exam period, which began May 7 and will conclude June 24, according to Shakeeb.

Former Education Minister Shifa Mohamed previously claimed it was a change in Ministry of Education practice for preliminary O’Level results not to be publicly disclosed prior to the final results.

Preliminary Cambridge exam results arrive in January or February, with little difference between these and the final results, she explained.

“Analysis of these findings should only require three days,” Shifa said at the time.

Previous education policies

“The current government would not have been able to do anything in the period of time between coming to power [Febuary 2012] and when students sat for the exams [October 2012],” former Education Minister Dr Musthafa Luthfy told Minivan News today.

“The high exam pass percentage rate is due to what we did when we were in government,” he claimed. “Before us, there was no target set.”

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had aimed to raise O’Level pass rates from 27 to 60 percent in five years by implementing a holisitc educational policy involving multiple strategies, Luthfee explained.

The quality of Maldives school education and exam pass rates will continue to improve if the current administration abides by the policy guidelines put in place by the MDP government, he emphasised.

“There are several strategies which should be included in all aspects of education. Working on one aspect will not improve exam scores or educational quality,” said Luthfee.

“We rapidly established single session schooling for 55 percent of institutions to provide children the opportunity to engage in opportunities outside of the classroom and develop their character through extracurricular activities,” he explained. “This enabled improved student discipline and motivation.”

“Educational standards were also improved, by developing ‘smart school’ indicators to assess teachers, school authorities, and the Education Ministry,” he continued. “Previously there were no assessment standards.”

“Educational management – classroom and school – was enhanced, which included institutionalising mandatory inservice teacher training each term,” he added. “The education system was also decentralised, and school boards were developed to bring parents into the decision making process, which improved teacher and parent motivation.”

“We also supported private higher education and established the Maldives National University (MNU),” said Luthfy.

He claimed these policies have not been maintained under Waheed’s administration.

“This year there was no money to continue the single session schooling,” Luthfy said.

“If they continue to dismantle the strategies we’ve set, exam results will not continue to improve,” he noted. “However, if they abide by these strategies then quality of education and motivation will continue to increase.”

“The vigour of the policy program made the public aware of the importance of education and the importance of exam pass rates, as well as other educational aspects,” he declared.

The Education Ministry was not responding to enquiries at time of press.

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Couple charged with aborting child deny murder charges in court

The Criminal Court has  conducted its first hearing into charges of murder against a couple who allegedly aborted their 20-week old foetus.

The local media present at the court identified the couple as Aiminath Shaahy Aalam, 21 and Ibrahim Visam, 26, both from Addu City.

The mother Aiminath Shaahy Aalam was given the opportunity to respond to the charges and told the court she had previously stated how the incident occurred in the statement she gave to police.

The statement was read out in court, in which she confessed she had not sought medical care when she knew she was pregnant, and that she and her husband had discussed the matter and decided to abort the child. According to the statement, she confessed to taking abortion pills.

However, today in court she denied taking the pills with the intention of aborting the child and said she did not know what the pills she used were. She told the court she got the pills from a doctor working in the Dhilshaadh Clinic on Hithadhoo in Addu City.

In the statement she gave to the police investigators, she stated that her stomach had started aching at night while her husband was sleeping. She said said she woke up her husband and told him about it.

She said her husband then took off his shirt and she dropped the fetus on his shirt.

When the judge queried this, she said that she felt that something dropped on the shirt, but she didn’t see what it was, and neither did her husband showed her. Instead, he wrapped the shirt around it and put it into a plastic bag and took it away.

In  the court today, Aalam denied she was involved in killing the baby and told the judge that she wanted the state appoint a lawyer for her.

The father’s trial was also conducted today. He also denied the charges and requested the court give him time to appoint a lawyer, which the judge granted.

Police discovered the foetus buried on the beach of Maradhoo-Feydhoo in December 2012, after local witnesses reported a motorist acting suspiciously in the area, according to local media reports.

Abortion in the Maldives is illegal unless it is proved the conception is the result of rape, or that the pregnancy is a threat to the mother’s health.

The Prosecutor General’s Office forwarded the couple’s case to the Criminal Court on May 2.

Police have claimed that the buried foetus was found with its heart beating, but later died after being taken to the hospital.

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Police appeal for public assistance in locating stabbing suspect

Police have appealed for public assistance in locating a person identified as Sharufan Abdul Razzaq Ahmed, 19 of Lonumidhilige [house] in Maafannu Ward.

On May 27 police issued a statement informing the public they were seeking to question Razzaq regarding a recent stabbing, but had been unable to locate or determine his whereabouts.

Police alleged that on May 18 at 3:25 pm  Razzaq together with some other persons stabbed two people near the junction where Chanbeyly Magu meets Haveeree Hingun.

Police said Razzaq was needed for the police investigation into the case, and stated that any person who disclosed information about his whereabouts would receive protection as required by law.

Local media has reported that the 18 and 21 year-old victims were hospitalised following the attack.

The 18 year-old received injuries to his chest, back and other parts of the body while he 21 year-old suffered injuries to his back.

The media reports say that Razzaq has a previous criminal record, after he allegedly entered Nalahiya Manzil House in Henveiru Ward in 2010 January with a companion and stabbed a person inside the house.

That case is now in Prosecutor General’s Office waiting to be forwarded to the court for trial.

Progess of special task force

Police have also said that the police special task force established to curb gang related crimes occurring in Male’ had arrested seven people.

Police said four were persons police were looking for in connection with a recent stabbing incident.

In a statement issued to update information about the special operation, police said they had searched areas related to gang activities 960 times, and stopped and searched 290 persons.

Police also established vehicle check points in different areas of Male’ and searched 651 vehicles. 29 licenses were held for traffic violations.

Police said they would continue to stop and search people out late at night, or on the streets in the early hours of the morning.

Police recently arrested 11 persons for alleged involvement in a stabbing attack at the ‘Home X’ store in the capital on May 19, that hospitalised one male victim.

Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz  told local media that members of the taskforce were now searching for 50 “high-profile” suspects alleged to have had involvement with gang-related activities.

“They are a threat to the society. We consider everyone who has not been punished for a crime they have  committed as a criminal at large,” he was quoted by local newspaper Haveeru as saying.

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MP’s defection to president’s party a “betrayal”, says PPM MP

The defection of Thimarafushi MP Ahmed Shareef to President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP) on Monday was a “betrayal”, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Nihan has declared.

Nihan said that with rumours circulating over the last two to three weeks concerning Shareef’s planned defection, PPM members within Thimarafushi were concerned about the MP’s move, as well as expressing wider criticisms about the conduct of President Waheed and the GIP.

However, he stressed that the PPM remained “very much committed” to the coalition government backing President Waheed. The present government came to power following the controversial transfer of power on February 7 last year, which saw President Mohamed Nasheed resign from office following a mutiny by sections of the police and military.

Nihan said following Shareef’s decision to defect from the party, rumours continued to circulate that another PPM MP was potentially considering joining with President Waheed ahead of September’s scheduled elections.

He said that the PPM was committed to supporting President Waheed’s government “for the sake of the nation”, despite calls from the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) earlier this month to support an interim government ahead of September’s elections in order to secure “free and fair” voting.

“I strongly believe that PPM will continue to [President Waheed’s] government, but at the end of the day [the GIP] are the ones who are playing games here,” he said.

Criticisms

Despite the party pledging its ongoing support to the current government, the PPM has publicly levelled some criticisms at President Waheed this month about his alleged use of state resources for campaigning, as well as his decision to sack Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed as home minister.

The government at the time claimed that Jameel’s position was terminated over his decision to stand directly against President Waheed in September’s election as running mate to PPM presidential candidate Abdulla Yameen, which it claimed has created a conflict of interest.

Yameen was later quoted during a PPM rally that cabinet ministers in a coalition government are not obliged to assist the president’s election campaign.

He also claimed that PPM has not been given the number of government posts promised by Dr Waheed more than a year ago with the formation of the coalition government.

Nihan claimed that despite these concerns, the PPM had continued to back President Waheed’s government, adding that with the party having the second highest number of MPs within parliament behind the MDP, it had “defended” the president government in a number of crucial votes of late.

“Since February 7, 2012, we have been the key party in securing votes for Dr Waheed,” he said, adding that the “majority” of supporters who had welcomed President Waheed to various islands would have been members of the PPM.

However, with the defection of MP Shareef to GIP, Nihan claimed that that the party and its supporters would be concerned should any more of its elected representatives be asked to join the GIP.

“We hope [Presdent Waheed] will not take any more MPs from the party,” he said.

Speaking to local media today on his decision to defect to the GIP, MP Shareef said he had opted to change parties in a move he said would “most benefit” his constituents.

“I have decided to join President Waheed’s party. The party will carry out the arrangements,” he was quoted as saying by Sun Online.

GIP Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza was not responding to calls at time of press. Meanwhile, Minivan News was awaiting a response from the coalition’s media team on Shareef’s decision.

Coalition backing

Ahead of September’s election, the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has announced that it will join the religious conservative Adhaalath Party and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) in a coalition backing President Waheed.

Dr Waheed’s Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP) currently has 3,930 registered members while the DRP has 21,411 members, according to the Elections Commission (EC). The DRP is also the third largest party in parliament while the GIP has no representation in either the legislature or local councils.

The government-aligned Jumhoree Party (JP) meanwhile announced earlier this month that no decision has been made on whether to join a coalition backing President Dr Mohamed Waheed in September’s election, as it prepares to officially choose its presidential candidate and leader.

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Car flips in Addu City accident, none injured

A car lost control and flipped over while traveling at high speed in Hithadhoo, Addu City today (May 27), reports local media.

The accident occurred near the Hithadhoo harbor at approximately 9am when the car’s driver attempted to overtake a motorcycle, police told local media.

The drivers of both the car and motorcycle were not injured, however the car sustained “a number of damages”, according to police.

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Recent wheat flour imports contain gravel, worms, and lice: FDA

The Maldives Food and Drug Authority (FDA) issued a food alert today (May 27) warning that recent imports of wheat flour contain gravel, worms, and lice, reports local media.

The FDA also advised local retailers to refrain from selling contaminated wheat flour stock.

The agency has received a “number of complaints” that stones and sand were found in recently sold wheat flour.

The FDA is currently conducting tests of wheat flour storage facilities in Male’, and thus far they have determined shipment number 4500003103, produced in March 2013 and set to expire on September 2013, did not contain any of the suspected contaminants.

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Police seize 349 drivers licenses in one week

Police withheld 349 drivers licenses last week for traffic violations, reports local media.

Police Vehicle Checkpoints (VCP) set up in different locations around Male’ from May 19th to the 26th enabled police to seize individuals’ licenses for various traffic violations.

The majority of violations were due to driving with expired “roadworthiness stickers”, resulting in 210 licenses taken, while expired annual registration fees, violating traffic signals, driving the wrong direction down one-way streets, driving while on a mobile phone, “dangerous” driving, and other miscellaneous violations comprised the remainder of offenses.

Police also detained 86 people for driving without proper licenses.

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