The Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) has called for greater efficiency in how the country’s labour and immigration officials deal with processing expatriate workers before imposing measures requiring employers to provide insurance packages for foreign staff upon arrival.
Immigration Controller Ilyas Hussein Ibrahim told Haveeru this week that although new applicants for work visas in the Maldives would now be required to have an insurance policy provided to them, a similar requirement for existing expatriate workers expected to come into place in March had been postponed.
Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Gafoor, Treasurer of the MNCCI, has said that although the business organisation does not hold any objections to insuring employees, it was hoping for more consistent and efficient processing of paper work for expatriate workers before implementing a system of mandatory insurance.
Notable issues of concern selected by the MNCCI’s Treasurer included difficulties in acquiring insurance for expatriate workers before they had arrived within the Maldives, the time frame afforded to industry to implement the changes and the actual relationships between the government and insurance providers over the new requirements.
“The current levels of bureaucracy involved with dealing with immigration and labour authorities for expatriates is very inefficient,” he said. “Under the insurance plans, there is no defining of expatriates coming here, so we are having to follow the same procedure for every single foreign worker at the moment.
Adheeb told Minivan News that there has been “concern”, particularly in “high turnover employment areas” such as construction, about the exact requirements for each type of employee bought into the country.
“High turnover [of staff] is a big problem, particularly in the case of small construction projects – of about three months,” he said. “It may be preferable to bring workers out for six months instead of the three required and whenever one expatriate returns home, we have to go through the same insurance process for each employee.
Adheeb claimed that protecting expatriates and keeping skilled workers within the Maldives was very important for business development.
“We have to accept that the Maldives does not have enough local labour force to meet the country’s requirements,” he said. “We need to keep hold of skilled expatriates.”
When asked whether measures such as insurance may bring greater accountability for businesses requiring expatriate labour, Adheeb claimed that a number of construction groups already had their own insurance plans in place and added that he was in favour of insurance programmes over all.
“We have some concerns over this move; for starters, we would like to see the current procedures in dealing with bureaucracy made more efficient,” he said. “I would like to see faster service, some companies are fast tracked [through the application process] but this is not the same for all businesses.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Immigration and Emmigration was unable to respond to calls from Minivan News at the time of going to press.
However, Immigration Controller Ibrahim told Haveeru this week that policies for determining whether suitable insurance policies and enforcing the new insurance rules were in place had not been decided upon, but he was confident employers were getting to grips with the measures.
“Because of the announcement, many people have begun insuring. It is something that must be done in the future. But right now only the new foreign workers are required to insure,” he told the paper.
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Lol! One wonders whether Minivan questioned the govermnent official cited in this article regarding Adheeb's concerns. If so, his response is gov-speak for "eff-off, we'll do what we want for whom we want whenever we want".
We have to insure the expats. I have seen few expat workers being admitted at IGM hospital with no one to take care of their welfare. They kept begging to other patients family members and it is their right according to international labor laws.
There is no need to delay this or that.it is high time the neglect and abuse of foreign workers be addressed through such regulations.
Adeeb from MNCCI is becoming the leading voice for the businesses and economy and the people, he was the only person to have guts to talk against inefficient privatisation, IMF agrement, about deficiet budget and also salaries of MP's. All his economic predictions and impacts of the decisions of government is coming true..
I fear for the lives of these few responsible educates youth leasders who are working in the passion of National Interest. Sooner or later they will be defamed or harmed by the people who are highjacking our beloved country. May Allah protect him and others on the cause...
Second that, industry burdens in this recession are more in Maldives, while other countries give stimulus and to industries. Good article by minivannews and great response from Mncci..
Here's a way to hack a system- if you call that a hack
find a list of email ID's, use them to comment on minivannews, after of course rerouting your IP address.
genius
keep up the good work Adheeb. We've got our eye on you.
This is just the beginning. The way business is done in this country must change. Revenge is a dish best served cold and the people of this country, poor and illiterate as they are, have had enough. enough` i tell you kekeke
Accountability is whats lacking, and transparency. Those who have had their way for decades, preying on 'inferior' masses just because they can get away with it, thinking the Lord's reckoning is far way, are asking for it. And if they dare to think we can be outwitted, indulged into divulging even more, then i say no longer, ladies & gentlemen.
And no sleazy erotic majilis websites are going to hold us back. "No more Mr.Mahloof, no more- we want justicks".
If lessons would serve as moral guidelines, I once knew a sociopath who collected anonymous pictures from Fbook and labeled them as ones own. I mean to say we are also facing an identity crisis as well ladies n, gentle men.
look at me rambling like an old fool. keep up the `good works minivannews. Oh! and Adheeb we strive only to keep certain envious wolves (who wish to defame you, only because you are better than them) at bay in order you be allowed to bloom. Such characters justify their intent to caricature you (question your qualification; plant seeds of doubt in the public eye and in general undermine you, from the comforts of anonymity) by saying its for his own good.
forgive my ranter then. google talk is getting to me.
again keep it up, adheeb.
I agree with Adheeb. It's also high time we started properly regulating the import of immigrant labor.
Well this article is clearly biased, its conspiring against all the insurance companies- the allSaints in this story.
Something definitely does not compute, even if they do live happily ever after all. LOL
Adheeb has his dark side too. It would appear however that is juvenile delinquent school days are a thing of the past.
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c_inema
Well this article is clearly biased, its conspiring against all the insurance companies- the allSaints in this story.
Something definitely does not compute, even if they do live happily ever after all. LOL
Adheeb has his dark side too. It would appear however that his juvenile delinquent school days are a thing of the past.
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c_inema
Afiya Payback - What on EARTH are you talking about?
Dept of Immigration & Emigration is collecting almost double the air fair as ticket deposit from the employers. In case they have to send back any, they spend only half of the deposit and no body knows what happens to the balance. Balance was never returned to any employer. For example, MRF. 8000 as security ticket deposit is charged from the employer for each and every Bangladeshi. In case they have to utilize the amount to send back the employee to his country, they can do so below USD. 400, and no nobody knows what happens to the balance! Despite charging the employers excessively, they are unable to repatriate illegal emigrants. Regulations are made without consulting the industries, and haphazardly. I have seen expatriate passports put in trays, and thrown all over the floor inside the department. Those who have to deal with the department can only understand.
Adheeb is married and with child
Thank you