Expatriates Refuse to Work

Ninety-two expatriates working in Funamaudhoo, North Huvadhu Atoll have gone on strike claiming they have been beaten and not paid.

They have travelled to Thinadhoo, Ghaaf Daal, where they are waiting to return to their native homes, Thinadhoo Police said.

The majority of the labourers are thought to be from Bangladesh. They reportedly went on strike yesterday claiming they had not been paid and saying they were eventually beaten during the three-months they worked to develop Funamaudhoo into a tourist resort.

Police say the men arrived in Thinadhoo at around 1.30pm yesterday. They were reportedly dropped off at the island’s port by their employer and have been waiting there since.

“At the moment, nearly a hundred workers are waiting by the port to be taken to Male’,” an official from the Thinadhoo Police Station told Minivan News. “The men slept in boats last night, but should be in Male’ at around eight this evening.”

The Police official was unsure who was paying for the workers’ return journey, but said he suspected it was the employers, Yacht Tours Maldives. The company is owned by Majlis member for North Huvadhu, Abdulla Jabir.

When asked to explain the Funamaudhoo situation, Jabir refused to give comment and said that all questions regarding Yacht Tours Maldives must be answered by a representative at the company’s office. But Manager Mohamed Raffath, who was in the office when Minivan called, had no more to say on the situation.

He said: “It is not our people who are involved in this. We use subcontractors, so it is their problem, not ours.” Raffath went on to say that he was not allowed to reveal any information on the subcontractor due to an agreement between the two companies. He also expressed doubt as to whether the accusations were true.

But many Thinadhoo residents believe the expatriates story. According to one man quoted in the Dhivehi Observer, the workers have said it has been several days since they have had a proper meal and that some were beaten when they refused to work in protest at the poor conditions.

The Dhivehi Observer also published several pictures of injured men, which it claims is evidence of the expatriates’ stories. Thinadhoo Police say that are further investigation the situation.

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