CSC to challenge ruling on sick leave allowance

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has decided to challenge an Employment Tribunal ruling that established that the commission cannot deduct a civil servant’s service allowance for sick leave.

A CSC official told local media today that the commission will appeal the ruling at the High Court this week.

The tribunal last Wednesday ruled in favour of a senior project officer at the fisheries minister in a dispute with the commission. Naseef Mohamed had contended that the deduction of MVR66.76 from his service allowance in January when he called in sick for a day was arbitrary.

The tribunal ordered the commission to reimburse the deducted amount within 14 days.

The three members on the tribunal ruled unanimously that deducting the service allowance does not fit any of the circumstances specified in the Employment Act that allow deduction of salary or wage payments.

The commission reportedly began imposing pay cuts for sick days under new civil service regulations enacted in December.

All employees of the fisheries ministry have meanwhile signed a petition to permanent secretary Dr Abdulla Naseer seeking reimbursement of deductions from their service allowance.

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Sacked TVM reporter to be reinstated

The employment tribunal has ordered the state TV to reinstate a reporter who was sacked unlawfully in February and ordered a payout of MVR 100,800 ($6536) as compensation.

Nasrulla Haadhy, a long time employee of Television Maldives (TVM), was dismissed when he refused a transfer to a bureau in southern Addu City.

“I was sent to the Addu City bureau, but there was no office there. They also did not give me food and salary allowances that were provided to others who worked out of Male’ City. Their reason was that my wife is from Addu City. I refused, and then they dismissed me,” he said.

Nasrulla now works at privately-owned Channel 13.

“I intend to return to the job. I worked there because I loved to work there and I have no problem with the management. I just disagreed with two people from the senior management,” he said.

In March, a TV Anchor Ali Shamin was dismissed from TVM after he alleged the station was biased in its coverage of political unrest triggered by the jailing of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed.

A senior journalist Mohamed Afsal was demoted in the same month after he criticized the criminal court for refusing to let journalists leave the court premises during a break in between hearings in Nasheed’s terrorism trial.

Minivan News understands Afsal was reinstated to his former position when he threatened to file charges at the Employment Tribunal.

The government in April seized control of the state TV and radio stations after dissolving the Maldives Broadcasting Corporation through a new law.

Ruling party MPs appointed five members proposed by President Abdulla Yameen to the new Public Service Media (PSM) board without interviewing them.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) called a move an attack on press freedom and described the PSM as a “state mouthpiece.”

Umar Manik, the chairman of the former board, was the only incumbent who was appointed to the new board.

Staff at the PSM have long complained of favoritism and lack of independence in successive governments.

Some staff who spoke to Minivan News today said the new board had promised changes.

“We have always complained about favoritism and discrimination. The new board promised change but it is still the same,” a female reporter who wished to remain anonymous said.

Another senior journalist, however, said some journalists who were deliberately left without work are now included.

“The new board has included those who were isolated over disputes and is encouraging us to work together,” he said.

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President appoints members to employment tribunal

President Abdulla Yameen has appointed two new members to the seven-member employment tribunal today.

The president presented letters of appointment to Aishath Fizleen and Hussain Faiz Rashad at a ceremony this morning and Supreme Court Justice Abdulla Areef administered the oaths of office.

The pair were appointed for a five-year term.

The employment tribunal was established in 2008 to adjudicate and resolve employment disputes. The tribunal hears cases on unfair dismissal, breach of contract, suspension or demotion, discrimination, promotions, and compensation.

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Employment Tribunal spent MVR1.2 million in excess of approved budget

The Employment Tribunal spent MVR1.2 million (US$77,821) in excess of the parliament-approved budget in 2013, the institution’s audit report for 2013 made public today has revealed.

An annual budget of MVR5.7 million (US$369,649) for the tribunal had been approved by parliament.

“The overspent amount was facilitated by a budget extension of MVR1,251,429 made to the Tribunal by the Ministry of Finance and Treasury. However, it was observed that the parliamentary approval for this budget extension was not obtained as per clause 32(a) of the Public Finance Act,” the report stated.

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Assistant registrar files complaint against Supreme Court

The former Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court, Fathimath Latheef, has filed a case against the court in the Employment Tribunal accusing the court of unlawful dismissal.

According to her lawyer Mohamed Fareed, Fathimath was performing the tasks of a full Registrar prior to her dismissal on September 15.

Fareed claimed that the court did not give her termination notice prior to her dismissal and paid no compensation, accusing the highest branch of the judiciary of breaching the Employment Act.

He also alleged that the court decided to sack Fathimath following a complaint she filed with the Department of Judicial Administration, concerning the sudden transfer of her duties to a newly-appointed Secretary General – an individual who Fareed claimed was the wife of a Criminal Court Judge and member of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).

“Because of the transfer, Fathimath no longer had the right to perform the duties of a Registrar, which was legally entitled to her under court regulations. She wrote to the judges at the Supreme Court regarding the issue, however the matter was not resolved,” Fareed said.

He also accused the Supreme Court of abusing its authority in appointing the Secretary General to the court, adding that the case had already been forwarded to the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC).

Deputy President of the ACC, Muaviz Rasheed, confirmed the case is now under investigation.

Minivan News is currently seeking a comment from the Supreme Court but the office was not responding at time of press.

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Employment tribunal orders GMR to reinstate 18 baggage handlers

Eighteen Maldivian GMR employees will be reinstated as permanent baggage handlers at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport and given seven months back pay in a lump sum, the Employment Tribunal has ruled.

The Tribunal found last week that the employees’ temporary contracts, which were terminated in May, had violated rights and benefits conferred upon employees by the Employment Act.

The ruling states the contracts violated company policy, which identified baggage handling as a permanent position but for which workers were only issued temporary contracts.

“The employees were technically working in a permanent position, although they worked under a temporary contract. The Employment Act article 4[a] states that there shall be no differentiation in salaries of employees working in the same level,” said the Tribunal’s ruling.

The Maldives’ Employment Act does not state that temporary contracts themselves are invalid, as was reported by local media. The Act defines a “temporary employee” as someone “working on a day to day basis with no prospect of being made permanent employees.”

The contracts, which were issued by the airport’s former operator Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), were found to violate provisions of the Employment Act.

“The contracts had been issued on a three month basis by [Maldives Airports Company Limited] before GMR took them over,” said a Labor Relations Authority officer. “The Labor Relations Authority found that they did not provide for annual leave or for a Ramazan allowance,” he said.

According to the officer, GMR had been asked to update its temporary contracts in accordance with the Employment Act after employees filed a complaint in January. The contracts were updated as requested, and upon their expiration in May the employees were dismissed and a baggage handling company was hired.

Employment Tribunal Registrar Alia Haneef could not say if GMR’s hiring of a baggage handling company was against any regulation. However, “the previous contracts were invalid,” she said. “Section 13 states that employees who have been working under any form of contract for a total of two years or more are entitled to permanent contracts.”

The employees originally asked the tribunal to order GMR to reimburse them the money they would have received as permanent employees, however the report states that the tribunal was unable to rule on cases older than three months.

The tribunal concluded that GMR was to pay the value of seven months’ salaries and allowances within seven days and to consider the terminated employees as permanently contracted employees.

The case was filed at the tribunal on 27 April, although the order to pay back seven months’ worth of salaries and allowances refers to a start date of January 26. The tribunal’s reports claims this adjustment compensates for the first three months of the case on which it is unable to pass ruling, due to time elapsed.

A GMR spokesperson said the company had not been officially informed of the outcome by the Employment Tribunal and was unable to comment on the matter.

Correction: Previously, the article stated that “the Tribunal found that [the contracts] did not provide for annual leave or a Ramazan allowance.”

It should have stated that, “the Labor Relations Authority found that [the contracts] did not provide for annual leave or a Ramazan allowance.”

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Labour authority plays down expatriate worker culture-clash claims

In the second of a two part article, Minivan News looks at the challenges facing skilled expatriates coming to work in the Maldives and the current systems in place to prevent both employees and employers from suffering workplace malpractice. Read part one

The Minister of Human Resources  Hassan Latheef has said that the country’s Labour Relations Authority has not received notice of any cultural difficulties between expatriate staff and local employees in the Maldives. However, the country is planning amendments to employee rights.

Amidst complaints from some expatriates about alleged difficulties and mistreatment from local employers, Latheef suggested that in some cases, language and legislation were key barriers to ensuring workplace harmony.

Several European and Australian skilled expatriates who spoke to Minivan News criticised certain employment practices that they claimed led to clashes with their employers. These clashes are said trigger premature job dismissal, and in some instances force employees to flee the country.

Minister Hassan Latheef, speaking to Minivan News earlier this year, rejected suggestions that any cultural clashes were occurring between foreign workers and their employers, at least as reported by the Labour Relations Authority.

“In the work place, I do not see any cultural differences that are being brought up and creating issues [between expatriate workers and employers],” he said.

According to Latheef, however, the Dhivehi language was seen as a major potential barrier to harmony between foreign workers from outside the region and their local colleagues and employers. He said workers from countries like Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh did not generally face this barrier.

“There is one thing in common for an Indian worker, a Sri Lankan worker or a Bangladeshi worker who is working in the same site doing the same work – their language of communication is Dhivehi. That keeps them not so much nationalistic,” he said, referring to any potential difficulties foreign workers are said to face. “We haven’t come across any cases [of cultural discrimination] as such and this has not been raised as an issue by anybody so far – fortunately.”

The minister did advise caution when addressing the treatment of workers, either national or foreign. Preventing potential widespread difficulties in the future, or culture clashes between bosses and their staff, was important, he said.

“I do sense that if we neglect [the issue of treatment of foreign worker] or keep our eyes shut, this could create problems because you know with Bangladeshis [working in the Maldives], I’m sure they face a lot of things that are not common in other countries,” he said. “So if we don’t keep in our minds that this could be an area that someday might create problems, we always have to be cautious of the issue that these workers are of different nationalities. I know I’m very cautious of that.”

Latheef claimed that legislation –particularly in areas like labour relations – was another key area that the government had pledged to address.  With an estimated 100,000 expatriate workers believed to have been hired in the Maldives, 45,000 are thought to be skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers from Bangladesh. According to Latheef, the High Commission for Bangladesh based in Male’ has worked with the ministry on numerous occasions to resolve any humanitarian concerns or workplace issues that have occurred with its nationals in the Maldives.

Both Former Bangladeshi High Commissioner to the Maldives, Professor Selina Mohsin, and the serving Controller of Immigration Abdulla Shahid have previously told Minivan News that failures in immigration policy left foreign workers vulnerable to substandard treatment and workplace malpractice.

Latheef claimed that concerns over employee treatment were being addressed. Legislation was awaiting approval for local and foreign workers alike that was aimed to cover a wide variety of issues relating to staff and employer rights.

“There is a bill being drafted, a very comprehensive one on industrial relations that would have provisions for making trade unions and everything to do about lockouts, picketing and striking, regulatory bodies’ functions and the Labour Relations Authority – it’s very comprehensive,” he said.

Echoing comments from the country’s employment tribunal, which is independent of the Human Resources Ministry and the Labour Relations Authority that falls under its remit, Latheef said that the majority of complaints received were from local workers, particularly in the country’s tourism industry.

Latheef added that about 95 percent of complaints received by the Labour Relations Authority from expatriate workers involved the alleged failure of an employer to pay wages. He said living conditions or overall treatment were not a commonly raised issue. But the minister believed local workers differed from their expatriate colleagues.

“Maldivians rarely complain about the pursuit of [unpaid] salaries – most of the time, they complain about the conditions at work or their living conditions. Most of the complaints I should say come from resort workers,” Latheef said. “Their complaints come from not being paid a service charge they are entitled to, to conditions of their accommodation and alleged discrimination from senior management.”

Among proposed changes to labour laws, the government last month invited comments on amendments to the Employment Act targeted at setting new living standards for foreign and local workers. These standards aimed to align with International Labour Ogranisation (ILO) recommendations.

The Human Resources Minister claimed that many potential problems currently facing expatriate employment in the country were expected to be eradicated by next year. He anticipates new systems for hiring foreign workers will be in place as well.

The claims were made after the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) assumed the duties of front-line immigration staff and Human Resources Ministry officials handling employment for a several weeks in June, following allegations of corruption in the work permit process.

The controversial decision, criticised by opposition MPs, was said to have Lateef’s support. Lateef believed military assistance was vital to reforming the processes of immigration and hiring expatriate labour.

“I don’t see the problems we have now will be there in 2012,” he said. “For instance we have a backlog of roughly 40,000 expatriates working here illegally,” he said. “The scenario would be very different in dealing with the ways we think of and the manner we act [to employees] on a happy day. But it is not a very happy day for us.”

View from the Employment Tribunal

The country’s Employment Tribunal, formed in 2008 to rule on disputes between employees and employers, previously said it had not received any complaints of alleged workplace discrimination. It also said expatriate cases represented a minority of the overall complaints received.

A tribunal spokesperson, who wished to remain anonymous, added that although the tribunal had not dealt with cases such as forced labour or discriminatory behaviour from employers, “this does not mean it is not taking place fairly openly.”

“I think it is all happening in the country, even if we do not receive such cases. Anybody who is in this society knows it is happening in the country,” the spokesperson added, emphasising that employment laws were designed to treat local and foreign workers equally regardless of their nationality.

The tribunal itself is not currently able to enforce its decisions through the courts, even by ruling against breaches of contractual or legal obligations without additional amendments to the Employment Act.

Accepting this current lack of enforcement capabilities, the tribunal spokesperson added that the Labour Relations Authority did have a legal mandate to take action against employees deemed to be in violation of employment rights.

The spokesperson said it was therefore vital to ensure that inspections of work premises and practices were being carried out efficiently  “[The Labour Relations authority] has the mandate to go to workplaces to supervise and inspect and see if it’s all according to the Employment Act and they can also take action if it is not. Like for example, if the work conditions are not good enough as per the law, if they don’t have a contract, or if they are receiving a salary or not, these people can check on that, but we can’t,” the spokesperson said. “We are more like a court, so we can only attend to the claims submitted to the tribunal and only go on with those cases. I think if the (Labour Relations Authority’s] inspections are conducted well there will be less problems, the institution would be better actually.”

The spokesperson added that ultimately employers and employees alike could come to the tribunal with allegations of breaches of contract, but claimed workers in the Maldives were not aware of their rights or the process of getting a verdict from the tribunal.

“A claim has to be submitted within three months if there is a dispute,” the spokesperson said. “I think awareness [of the tribunal’s work and requirements] is very important especially for foreigners, though locals also have the same problem.”

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Troubled paradise: Skilled expatriates falling foul of workplace challenges

In the first of a two part article, Minivan News looks at the challenges facing skilled expatriates coming to work in the Maldives and the current systems in place to prevent both employees and employers from suffering workplace malpractice.

A growing number of expatriate workers in fields ranging from education to project management have told Minivan News they are considering leaving the Maldives, and in some cases have already left the country, amidst difficulties and desperate circumstances linked to “cultural clashes” and discrimination from local employers.

Several foreigners who have worked in the Maldives have spoken to Minivan News of the more negative experiences they have had with local employers, who they allege in cases have been “suffocating”, “scary”, and even deceptive in their treatment of expatriate staff, leading them to leave their posts prematurely and in some instances flee the country.

Statistics

Despite these claims, statistics from government organisations upholding the country’s employment act suggest that the number of official complaints from expatriates regarding their work situation were significantly less than the complaints received by local staff.

The Employment Tribunal told Minivan News that between 2009 and 2010, the proportion of complaints received from expatriates regarding poor or illegal treatment represented less than 10 percent of its total cases.

A tribunal spokesperson, who wished to remain anonymous, said that it had yet to receive a single case of alleged workplace discrimination facing foreign workers, although it accepted the practice undoubtedly occurred and that foreigners required greater recourse should they face illegal treatment in their work.

The Ministry of Human Resources, Youth and Sports, which has the Labour Relations Authority under its remit, said it had not been made aware of significant concerns among expatriates – particularly those from Europe and Asia Pacific – of widespread difficulties or a culture clash experienced working with local employers.

Senior government sources have in recent months outlined concerns about the treatment of huge numbers of unskilled labourers from countries like Bangladesh that are often illegally trafficked into the country, though skilled workers from abroad also appear to have issues with work practice.

While the number of expatriate staff complaints is statistically limited in comparison to the number of concerns received from local employees, foreigners who have sought career development in the Maldives have raised concerns about a pattern of experiences they fear others may face.

One Australian teacher, who spent a year at an international school in the Maldives, found that after years of working across Asia the Maldives was the most “personally challenging”.

The teacher said that while not regretting his experiences in the Maldives, there was very little information on what workers should expect and a seeming lack of interest and acceptance of the foreign experience he had been employed to provide.

“I found work in the Maldives extremely challenging from the point of view of trying to initiate and foster an ‘international education’, with huge limits being put on what could be facilitated in the classroom in terms of curriculum and content – mostly due to ‘culture clashes’,” he said.

“I found many levels, from management, staff and the local community down to students themselves, very unyielding in accommodating ‘international quality teaching and learning’.”

Although working in a very different industry, one UK expatriate – employed for several months as a project coordinator for a high-profile reclamation and construction project before opting to leave the country and her job – said she felt her position was ultimately untenable and that she had put too much faith in the word of her employer before arriving in the Maldives.

“The owner informed me that I should not compare myself to other expatriates from Europe and that expats should work weekends and holidays as they do not have a social life,” she claimed.

“My advice to anyone moving to the Maldives would be to make sure you have a contract that is legally recognised in the country, including the provision of allowances, medical insurance and a job description before you commit. Promises can turn to dust and someone’s word is not necessarily their bond.”

Another employee from the UK, bought to the country to work as a travel journalist and writer after several years working in the Middle East, claimed that she was also unprepared for office life in the Maldives. The employee said her employer led her to feel powerless from treatment she believed amounted to bullying.

“[I] began to feel I was being watched at every step at work. Despite there being one rule for Maldivian staff – keeping whatever hours they pleased, turning up in the afternoon and going to meetings through the day – they brought in a performance management system especially for me, increasing my workload and making me work six days a week,” she said.

Speaking to Minivan News, a representative for the Maldives Employment Tribunal – formed in 2008 to ensure companies were fulfilling their obligations to the country’s labour laws – said that the Maldivian Employment Act was designed to protect both local and foreign workforces equally.

However, the tribunal spokesperson added that the formation of a special union or workers’ associations to protect the interests of foreign employees would no doubt be beneficial to foreign staff, particularly those not fluent in Dhivehi or English.

“If there is a union that can represent foreigners on their behalf, or a workers’ association or something that can represent [foreign workers], then it will be easier to give them access to the tribunal,” the spokesperson said.

According to the tribunal’s figures, in 2009 a mere eight percent of complaints received regarding workplace mistreatment were from expatriate workers, despite these workers constituting a third of the country’s population. In 2010, this figure halved to four percent.

No enforcement

At present, employers in the Maldives are not bound by decisions of the tribunal even if they were found to have breached their contractual or legal obligations, the spokesperson said.

The tribunal is awaiting changes to the Employment Act that will allow edicts to be legally enforced by the country’s Civil Court. A true reflection of of the number of disgruntled foreign employees was likely to follow, the spokesperson said.

“The tribunal itself and the Employment Act is silent on enforcement, so if we issue a verdict and no one enforces it, there is nothing we can do on this,” the spokesperson said.

“Maybe this is why people do not want to go through the hassle of [the tribunal]. If the decision is not implemented, what do they get at the end of the day? We have proposed the Employment Ministry amend the act so that enforcement power could be given to the Civil Court. But these amendments are still going on.”

Local considerations

The tribunal spokesperson said that there was little difference in the standard and type of complaints coming from either local or foreign employees, with few cases concerning discrimination.

“We normally get complaints about unpaid wages and unfair dismissal so it’s sort of the same. It’s basically unfair dismissal and unpaid wage that we receive, even from locals. We get very few cases of discrimination,” the spokesperson claimed.

The tribunal had not dealt with cases such as forced labour or discriminatory behavior from employers, she said, “although this does not mean it is not taking place fairly openly.”

“I think it is all happening in the country, even if we do not receive such cases. Anybody who in this society knows it is happening in the country,” the spokesperson added, emphasising that employment laws were nonetheless designed to treat local and foreign workers equally regardless of their nationality.

Foreign workers in their own words

Three expatriate employees who have all moved on from their posts recount their experiences of working in the country. The names of the individuals have been changed to protect their identities.

Michael, 28, Australian teacher

“I found working in the Maldives to be a thoroughly challenging, but rewarding experience. Unlike other regions of the world, which provide you with a plethora of websites, books and other resources to enhance your knowledge of what the country will be like to live and work in, there was little to go on before leaving – apart from the Lonely Planet guide (which is more of a resort guide than a window into the inner workings of the country itself).

So going there I had little idea of what living and working in the Maldives would be like. Early challenges included the ‘norm’ for ex-pat life abroad – finding suitable accommodation, getting acquainted with new work conditions and new colleagues, finding friends and generally finding your feet in a new place. I lived in Hulhumale’, which is a swift ferry ride away from the capital city of Male’ – this provided the quiet I desired, but I was close enough to experience Male’ when I had to or wanted to.

I was employed as an English teacher at an international school, which is my profession in my home country. I found work in the Maldives extremely challenging from the point of view of trying to initiate and foster an “international education”, with huge limits being put on what could be facilitated in the classroom in terms of curriculum and content – mostly due to ‘culture clashes’.

I found many levels, from management, students themselves, staff, down to the local community, very unyielding in accommodating “international quality teaching and learning”. To me this is what an international school should provide – opportunities for students to develop holistically and develop critical thinking skills, with an empathy and understanding for different cultures and lifestyles.

The culture of the Maldives and its unwillingness to broaden its horizons and be open to outside influences made school life extremely challenging, not to mention the management of the school ( European in origin) not being open to “local interests and desires” for a child’s education.

The Maldives can also be quite a ‘suffocating’ place, especially for foreign women – Maldivian males are quite primitive in some of their behaviour and I have both witnessed and heard of gross misconduct and harassment on many levels towards Western women. As a male, the country is without doubt an easier beast to handle, but foreign women definitely have cause for concern when dealing with locals at times.

On the whole, once settling into a vastly different style of ex-pat life that I had been used to, I really enjoyed living and working in the Maldives. It is quite a shock to begin with, with rigid cultural and religious elements, quite foreign to many western day-to-day lives, having to be adhered to.

Outside of work there is plenty to do if you have a thirst for everything outdoors. I wouldn’t trade my year there for anything, I met some wonderful people – both local and international, and would recommend people give the Maldives a go.”

Natalie, 47, British project coordinator

“Recruited by a Sri Lankan businessman in the UK to work as a project coordinator in the Maldives, I was very excited about finding what seemed to be an excellent opportunity for my career development, working on a reclamation and construction project.

Having thoroughly researched the UK company, I accepted the job offer to work for the newly established Maldivian company, set up specifically for the project. With what I understood to be tight project timescales, I relocated within a month having the draft of a skeleton contract in email, trusting the owner of the business that the company and its employees were like a family; we could finalise the details of the contract at a later date.

Once there the owner informed me that I should not compare myself to other expatriates from Europe and that expats should work weekends and holidays as they do not have a social life. My advice to anyone moving to the Maldives would be to make sure you have a contract that is legally recognised in the Maldives, including allowances, medical insurance and a job description before you commit. Promises can turn to dust and someone’s word is not necessarily their bond.

Life in the capital of Male’ for a woman is not an easy one. Despite respecting the culture and religious beliefs, wearing suitable clothing and behaving appropriately, the Maldivian men do touch and grab women inappropriately.

There is a great deal of resentment from some Maldivians towards expats and contractors from Europe and the Americas. Fortunately though, some recognise the potential for change to achieve future growth and prosperity in a greener and more international culture.

My experience is something I do not regret. I had the pleasure of meeting His Excellency the President on more than one occasion and was fortunate to make good friends and business associates. Lessons have been learned: such is life.”

Dana, 30, UK journalist

“I have lived and worked on respected publications in the Middle East, I was used to cultural differences and striking harmony between the two ways of working. I believed I was well prepared for the challenges of working in a society with similar beliefs to the Maldives, but nothing prepared me for the challenges that lay ahead.

I was at first pleasantly surprised with the apartment where I would be living. It was a three-bedroom flat with all mod-cons. Upon arriving, the publisher asked me which room I wanted to take and then proceeded to lock the other rooms, he retained a key for the flat and left.

The next morning, for my first day at work I had a rude awakening. The office boy who had collected my luggage was standing above me saying “madam, madam wake up!” Frightened out of my mind, I screamed at him to get out of my room. It was a strange and scary start to the day.

Any newsroom is supposed to be buzzing with reporters going in and out the office and colleagues coming in and out. Instead the publisher wanted it to be like a factory, rehashing press releases. He even had the general manager prepare us job descriptions, though it was clear that he hadn’t the first clue about journalism and was contending with staff with more than five decades of media experience between them.

Increasingly I also began to feel I was being watched at every step at work. Despite there being one rule for Maldivian staff, keeping whatever hours they pleased, turning up in the afternoon and going to meetings through the day, they brought in a performance management system for me, increasing my workload and making me work six days a week.

The office itself was dangerous and there were no health and safety regulations. The unlit entrance to the office had live cables swinging above the off the stairs and water on the bathroom floor. A campaign to bring it up to safe standards fell on deaf ears.

The general manager took me aside and tried to blacken the names of my colleagues, telling me they were not acting professionally in his eyes, but that he liked them and would give them more chances to improve.

Why was he telling me this I thought? I didn’t want to get involved, being such a newbie. Then he tried insinuate if I played by the rules I would do well. I didn’t like his tone or his allusions. It was as if he was trying to see what side I was on and divide and conquer. Baffled, I said that my colleagues had showed me nothing but kindness and respect and I didn’t want to be part of anything he was insinuating. I felt really uncomfortable with all of this.

I told my colleagues about his strange behaviour and bribes. They said they were not surprised. At various times he had tried the tactic with them all.

This alarmed me. Understandably at this point I was scared because I did not know what I had got in to. I only took the job because I thought this was an opportunity to further develop myself after my Middle East experience. I didn’t have the resources to move on.

Strangely, there was another power struggle going on between the publisher and the GM, who used to turn up late in the afternoon. Overall their attitude was arrogant and disdainful towards us and they showed no recognition for how hard the staff had been working to make their product
a success. Morale was so low in the office and all the energy and enthusiasm I had brought with me was being sapped. I felt I had served a lifetime, though barely a week had gone by.

There was a clocking in machine and we were required to clock in between 9am and 5pm and soon our interviews were being classed as time out by the publisher and his minion. I couldn’t believe their method of thinking!

We had contacts begging us to go out and visit them, yet we were ‘trapped inside the office.’ We tried everything to convince the publisher in the value of letting us out of the office. Yet he turned it into a punishment, banning press trips from the second week.

The day after Halloween, I received a phone call from my colleague who said she had just been fired. I was running late into the office from a meeting, so I couldn’t quite process it, she said that she had not been given any reason for the dismissal. My editor and the other reporter were in the office when I arrived and you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. It was such an awful morning. My macabre mood suited the topic of my writings that day a feature about ghouls and jinnis of the Maldives for a Halloween special.

We met outside for lunch and one of the reporters revealed that he was tendering his resignation on principle. The editor said he was looking for other jobs abroad but he would need to stay in this job for as long as possible. I felt for them and for the nightmare struggle they must have had so far. I felt suicidal after a few weeks, how about these poor souls?

I began to feel increasingly fearful as I did not want lose my job and have to go home. Not after all the struggle to get here. All those hours spent working in three menial jobs back to back, and taking on limited freelance contracts over the summer just to manage the airfare to the Maldives. I had no option, I was trapped, without enough money to go forward or back.

A few days later all hell broke loose. First the reporter who had tendered his resignation was called in and told that he was going to be dismissed that day, even though he was owed 30 days notice.

Then the editor was called in – luckily he had also just written his notice and handed it in before he could have the satisfaction of dismissing him. Two bully security guards were called in to almost forcibly remove them. I was so upset and shocked by the whole events which were unfolding. It was all going too fast – I couldn’t compute.

My state of mind was in tatters at this point imagining the worst, wrestling with my conscience, my pride and my dignity. My home was part of the work package so could not leave the company and try to find another job.

I didn’t have a choice. At this stage still hadn’t even been paid. I was also running out of cash and there was no one to help back home.

So I stayed… but at this point I still hadn’t even received my visa, and was required to leave the country and go to Sri Lanka. Still with no money, I asked the publisher to pay my expenses, but he said he would only pay for the airfare. I asked for an allowance to spend but he refused. Instead he turned out his moth-eaten wallet with £5 GBP and 15 rupees he said I could exchange.

In the meantime my colleagues had an awful time of it having to shift from place to place, but with the help of friends they got by and began setting up their own plans for the future. I tried to support them where I could.

Then I was called into the office and the publisher said he had been told that someone was else living in the flat and there were people visiting me. So what? I felt violated and angry as he had just admitted he been watching my flat. He said that he needed to give permission for anyone to stay. Another control mechanism.

The wheels were already in motion for my own removal. My visa was still in the process of being arranged and they had my passport. Less than 10 days later my fears were realised. I was called into the office and told that they would no longer continue with my employment and when I asked about my passport I was told I had to go to the immigration building to collect it.

I called one of my friends who had contact with immigration and I was told to come down to the office, they had my passport and tickets for me to fly out with Qatar within two days. I filed a case
with the employment tribunal and got my passport back.

The employment tribunal was a long and arduous process and in the end they ruled against me, as I hadn’t worked there long enough so I could not receive any compensation for the trauma of the last few months. Despite a ruling by the court to issue a one way ticket to the country of my choosing, I still have to receive that ticket from the employer. Along the way he pulled all sorts of nasty tricks including putting holds on empty tickets so that he would look good in court, and gazumping me when I went to buy a ticket at the same travel agent.

Overall, I felt an overwhelming feeling of freedom. I want to help people from making the same mistakes as me.”

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