Tag: maldives news

Industry seeks “grace period” for overhauling employee living conditions

Business organisations and labour rights groups have called on the government for more time to address proposed amendments to the Employment Act that will drastically shake up living standards for foreign and local workers employed within the Maldives.

The Ministry of Human Resources, Youth and Sports has today invited comments on the new proposals requiring all employers within the country to ensure that specific standards of living quarters are being provided to staff such as those living on resorts or construction sites.

The proposed amendments to the Employment Act outline new requirements for staff accommodation that include providing a clear separation of work and private space, sufficient artificial or natural light, purpose built kitchen areas and specific health and safety standards.

From the perspective of employers, Mohamed Ali Janah, President of the Maldives Association of Construction Industry (MACI), said that despite certain negative perceptions of the industry over treatment of its workers, beyond a few bad examples, there was a willingness to improve treatment of staff.

“Any improvement [to worker’s living conditions] we would welcome. Yet, with any improvements there is a cost attached to this,” he said.

Speaking to Minivan News, Janah said that he believed that the proposed amendments to workers’ living conditions would impact on the cost of construction work in the Maldives.  He said implementing such living standard changes would therefore require a grace period of around one year to allow businesses and their customers to adapt to the changes.

The MACI president claimed that in an already highly competitive marketplace,  society, rather than the construction industry alone, would have to accept some of the financial burden to offset the higher costs of accommodating workers to the standard proposed by the Human Resources Ministry.

“This will definitely have an impact on proposed costs in the industry. Right now, in what is currently a competitive market. We are just managing to get through the economic situation,” he said.

Alongside the Employment Act regulations, Janah said that he believed that additional legislation relating to occupational health and safety was needed to be addressed both in terms of private and government contracts – an issue he claimed was not always the case in negotiations for a construction project.

“The Maldives building code and health and safety requirements also need to be addressed along with these amendments,” he added.

Taking the example of what he believed were differences between the present and previous governments, the MACI president claimed that the implementation of a more structured national budget had meant that state building contracts were no longer a sure thing for building groups. These changes within the construction market were therefore seen as putting further pressure on building firms to try and cut costs while providing new residences for staff.

“[The accommodation proposals] are a good move, but there needs to be time for the industry to adapt,” Janah claimed. “There is awareness of the new requirements that needs to be created. I don’t believe penalizing companies would be the best practice and that a grace period of around a year would be a good time frame to address [the changes].”

Tourism workers

From a tourism industry perspective, worker’s organisations like the Tourism Employees Association of Maldives (TEAM) have criticised the decision to give just 15 days to provide feedback to the regulations proposed by the Human Resources Ministry.

TEAM President Ahmed Shihaam said that the association would be discussing its responses to the changes in accommodation within the next 24 hours, though had hoped the group would also have time to consult with tourism industry employers as well.

Shihaam claimed that a 15 day time-frame to respond to the regulations made it difficult to consult with important stakeholders like resort employers on the long-term implications of the proposals.

“Rather than days, we may need a month or so to address these issues properly, both with our members and the employers [the resorts themselves],” he said. “This is new to us all and the intention is not to make enemies.”

The Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), which represents a number of resort businesses operating in the country was unavailable for comment when contacted by Minivan News at the time of going to press.

In addressing the proposals for the Employment Act, Human Resources Minister Hassan Latheef said that the proposed new accommodation standards had been adapted from recommendations outlined by the International Labour Ogranisation (ILO), specifically in terms of sanitation conditions and room size.

Latheef claimed that the proposals would address many of the complaints and concerns received by the country’s Labour Relations Authority from Maldivian Workers concerning the conditions of their accomadation, particularly at resort level.
“Maldivians, rarely complain on 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,” he 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.”

By comparison, Latheef claimed that about 95 percent of complaints received by the Labour Relations Authority from expatriate workers related to the alleged failure of an employer to pay their wages rather than living conditions.

Accommodation amendments

The proposals opened up to public consultation by the Ministry of Human Resources, Youth and Sports are scheduled to come into force four months after being published in the government gazette.

These requirements include:

  • Lodging should provide shelter from the natural elements, and be constructed using suitable materials
  • If a lodging is based at a work site, there should be a fence separating these two area at a distance of 1.5 metres
  • At entrance of lodging, a service provider’s name and contact number should be displayed along with the maximum number of people that can be accommodated
  • Lodgings should have enough daylight or artificial light as well as a means of letting air pass through
  • A single worker’s accommodation should equate to 6 square metres of living space at a height of 2.4 metres and an all round width of 1.8 metres
  • For 2 people sharing accommodation, there should 9 square metres of space that is 2.4 metres in height and 2.1 metres in width – each extra person after that should be supplied with 4.5 square metres of living space, 2.4 metres in height with a width of 2.1 metres
  • Rooms should be for separated by gender, unless workers are married
  • Lodgers should also have a means of locking away valuables
  • A toilet should be provided for every 10 people staying at a lodging
  • A sewerage system should be in place and constructed with permission from the relevant authorities
  • A kitchen should be supplied that is appropriate for the surroundings, while it’s forbidden to cook inside lodgings at construction sites
  • Employers or the service provider will be fined up to Rf5,000 for each failure of regulation that is recorded

More information on the measures can be found on the Ministry of Human Resources, Youth and Sports’ website.

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Police statistics raise questions over scale of Maldives sexual abuse

A man in his sixties was arrested in Fares-Maathoda last week on suspicion of sending inappropriate text messages to a 12 year old girl as police figures indicate that the number of sexual abuse cases being reported is on course to exceed last year’s total.

“The man had given a phone to the [12 year old] girl, and was sending inappropriate text messages to her, he was also trying to lure her places to meet up” said police spokesperson Ahmed Shiyam in regards to the Fares-Maathoda allegations.

Shiyam said that it was uncertain as yet if an actual meeting had taken place between the suspect and his alleged victim. “We are currently investigating that,” he added.

Police today also confirmed that on June 30 2011, a 33 year old man in Addu Atoll was arrested over the alleged abuse of a 17 year old girl. Shiyam declined to give any more information on this case saying investigations were continuing.

Increase in reported cases

Alongside providing details of these allegations, official police figures given to Minivan News have indicated that a total of 163 sexual abuse cases were reported last year. The same statistics also revealed that 108 sexual abuse cases had been reported up to the end of May 2011. According to these figures, 30 of these cases allegedly involved victims aged between 2 to 12 years.

The number of abuse cases being reported has caused concern among groups such as NGOs. Back in April, the Advocating Rights of Children (ARC) group issued a press release expressing concern at the rising number of child abuse cases in the country, calling on the relevant authorities to strengthen laws to protect children.

However, public and political opinion appears divided on whether there is an increase in the incidence of abuse cases or the number of allegations being reported.

“I believe abuse cases happen a lot in the Maldives, it is just that in the past it was not reported,” said Mariyam Leesha, a 35 year old mother of two, who has reported being a victim of abuse herself.

Leesha said that she believed society was now more open in talking about abuse meaning more people are reporting allegations to the police.

“When a victim is not believed, they will not talk about it anymore,” she said.

Leesha has said that she was abused by her uncle as a child, allegations that her family refused to believe at the time.

According to Leesha, the culture of shame and fear that previously hindered people from reporting sexual and child abuse has been broken to an extent, although more work was needed as a society.

“Even recently when a Maldivian film on child abuse was shown, there were people who said that it should not have been enacted,” she said. Leesha says that issues like sexual abuse need to be discussed more to encourage people to report abuse.

The Gender Ministry declined to comment when asked by Minivan News on the possible causes of the increased rate of sexual abuse cases being reported, saying there was an absence of study or research to make any conclusions.

The names of any victims mentioned in this article have been changed to protect their identity.

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News report links Maldives to Indian health insurance scheme

The Maldives is reportedly among a number of nations showing interest in an Indian health insurance scheme designed to aid workers earning below the poverty line from significant hospital costs.

The India-based Economic Times newspaper on Friday (July 1) quoted Anil Swarup, Director General for Labour Welfare in Delhi, as claiming that delegations from countries like the Maldives, Nigeria and Bangladesh had sought technical guidance on potentially implementing and running the Rashtriya Swastya Bima Yojana (RSBY) scheme in their respective nations.

The claims were made during a state-level workshop on the insurance scheme that was held in India.

RSBY was launched back in 2007 as a partially state-funded insurance plan to protect low earning families in the country by covering medical charges of up to Rs 30,000 (US$642) after the claimant pays a initial Rs30 (US$0.67) registration fee, the news report added. About 25 states in the country are reported to have signed up to the scheme.

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JSC selects panel to appoint new judges

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has selected a panel to interview and vet candidates “to solve problems caused by lack of judges for magistrate courts and superior courts.”

The panel consists of Supreme Court Justice and JSC Chair Adam Mohamed Abdulla, MP Gasim Ibrahim, Judge Abdulla Didi, Attorney General Abdulla Muiz, Lawyers’ Representative Ahmed Rasheed and Member of the Public Shuaib Abdul Rahman.

The panel has been tasked with deciding the number of judges on superior court benches and presenting a report to the commission before 15 August.

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MNDF drafted to aid government dengue response over “epidemic” fears

The Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) has been drafted in to help with efforts to try and control an outbreak of dengue fever that the government has described as “an epidemic”.

President Mohamed Nasheed yesterday announced that he had requested the assistance of defense forces in collecting information about the virus from island and atoll health councils after four deaths linked to the affliction were recorded in the space of two days.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Major Abdul Raheem of the MNDF confirmed that the country’s armed forces would be working within a wider government task force to try and establish ways of better controlling the spread of the virus.

The Maldives has been battling a growing number of dengue fever cases in 2011, with 300 cases and five deaths reported in just the first two months of the year. There has been a reported spike in the number of cases of the virus reported in Male’; cases that were linked earlier this year by one health expert to a construction boom in the capital. However, most of the fatalities have been islanders who died in transit to regional hospitals, with many of the most serious cases having affected children.

Raheem did not specify what exact role the MNDF would take in efforts to combat the virus, but added that the defence force would be working as part of a taskforce based within a male’ school to try and coordinate a response to the outbreak.

“This is the first time we have been involved in efforts to help fight dengue fever,” he said. “But we have experience in working to control other [diseases].”

In addressing concerns about incidents of dengue across the Maldives, President Nasheed yesterday said that the MNDF would be used to obtain information about the virus from atoll health authorities in conjunction with councils and the Local Government Authority overseeing their work.

With the current outbreak now being treated as an epidemic by the government, the president called on members of the public and everyone involved in disease control to provide genuine information about the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, anyone found to be providing falsified information is said to risk facing possible prosecution from the authorities, Nasheed warned in a press release.

Early symptoms of the virus include fever, joint paint and a distinctive rash and headache, although it can be difficult to distinguish from the milder Chikungunya disease that can last for up to five days. Even healthy adults can be left immobile by dengue for several weeks while the disease runs its course.

Government criticism

Despite announcing plans to take action against the disease, the government has come under some criticism this week within the Majlis for perceived failures in its handling of the local dengue situation.

Amongst the criticisms, People’s Alliance (PA) MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla asked Health Minister Dr Aminath Jameel if she was considering resignation “since based on what is being said here your sector has very much failed,” Dr Jameel replied that she did not believe that was the case.

The health minister, replying to another question from MDP MP Ali Waheed during Tuesday’s (June 28) parliamentary session, said the ministry was providing information to islands through teleconferencing and stressed that controlling mosquito breeding grounds was key to combating the rise in dengue fever across the country.

“Mosquitoes don’t travel very far,” she explained. “Therefore, it’s mosquitoes from nearby areas that are spreading it. Controlling mosquito [breeding] is needed from the public and individuals as well. We are working together with island councils and the Male’ City Council.”

Jameel claimed that the Addu City Council had also taken up initiatives and organised activities to try and combat dengue.

“An additional problem that we encounter is the quick turnover of doctors in the country’s hospitals and health centres,” she said. “So they are not very familiar with the protocol here. We are facing that problem as well. But as I’ve said, this can’t solved without controlling mosquito [breeding].”

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Army’s intervention in immigration is progress, not policy failure: Human Resources Minister

Human Resources Minister Hassan Latheef has denied that his ministry and immigration authorities failed to deal with longstanding internal concerns over corrupt “discretionary” practices, after the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) temporarily took over border control this week.

The country’s defense forces have taken over front-line immigration services as well as the employment arm of the Human Resources Ministry amidst an ongoing investigation into allegations of what Immigration Controller Abdulla Shahid claimed was corruption in the work permit system.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Latheef claimed that cabinet’s decision to deploy the military to oversee immigration was further encouraged by the revelation that the Maldives remained on the US State Department’s Tier 2 Watch List for human trafficking. The report criticised the country for having increasing number of migrant workers from Bangladesh and to a lesser extent, India, being subjected to forced labour in the Maldives, as well as showing little evidence of increased efforts to tackle the problem.

Latheef claimed that despite an apparent lack of direct action on suspected human trafficking, his office had supplied a database of information and accounts from 16,000 illegal immigrants working in the country that had been used to identify companies and employment agencies suspected of foul play.

However, with foreign worker exploitation estimated to rival fishing as the second greatest contributor of foreign currency to the Maldivian economy, the human resources minister claimed that it was now vital to bring about regulatory reforms that would cut out the “discretionary powers” among both civil servants and political figures in government departments like his own.

“Giving too much discretion – to anybody, especially when money is so much involved – leads to corruption. Even I do not require any discretion for that matter. It should be in black and white,” he said.

Latheef claimed that these concerns should not be viewed as an indication of complete failure within the ministry’s handling of expatriate workers.

“I wouldn’t say that the Department of Immigration or human resources failed in this. We have done a lot of work, a lot of substantial work that has provided us with lot of findings especially the [information] about the 16,000 illegal expatriates I was referring to. That’s quite an achievement.”

Latheef said he accepted there had been delays in taking action against alleged corruption within the country’s visa system, which he claimed was identified immediately after coming into office in 2008.  The minister added that it had not been possible for the combined efforts of his ministry and the immigration department to resolve them alone.

“I do admit there is a delay in taking action, but I don’t see how this can be resolved without a third party getting involved. I think the MNDF is ideal for this and that is the decision we took in the cabinet,” he said. “It’s not like one morning I woke up and discovered that something was wrong. I discovered this on November 12, 2008. The very first press conference I gave in 2008, in December if I’m not mistaken, I did mention there are a lot of issues and faults in the database of the ministry and I have been working on this since.”

Latheef said that a number of findings had been passed onto the police as part of ongoing investigations, though he said that the different functions of government meant the ministry could not move by itself to try and combat the alleged corruption within it.

“I’ve submitted cases to police and raised issues with the cabinet, so it’s time everyone understands what I was trying to say back in 2008 and 2009. Now I’m very happy that the MNDF has come to my office and they are doing the work that I have tried to do. I do see some good things in it.”

With three years of concerns over the ministry’s role in assigning and regulating work visas to foreign workers, Latheef claimed that the ministry would now need to demonstrate a significant and visible change in policy to restore confidence in its operations.

Among these changes, the minister claimed, would be new software systems and database management software implemented in conjunction with the National Centre for Information Technology (NCIT) and the MNDF, as well as tighter legislation.

Through this proposed legislation, which Latheef said had begun to be put into force from the middle of this month, the government is said to be hoping to provide a much more comprehensive system for dealing with expatriate workers along with new IT systems designed to reduce discrepancies in visa numbers.

“Discretionary powers”

With large sums of money involved in the national trade in human trafficking, Latheef claimed it was vital to move away from a system of allowing individuals wide-spread discretionary powers to approve or disapprove visa applications.

“The previous regulations we have had allows a lot of discretionary powers for the directors and assistant directors who are sitting in the ministries, giving them the right to reject or issue quotas,” he said. “It is not an oversight – it is a deliberate work of the previous government I should say.”

Amidst additional challenges said to be facing the government, Latheef said that streamlining communication and collaboration between different ministries had been a significant issue since the government of President Mohamed Nasheed had been voted into power in 2008.

Earlier this week, Immigration Controller Abdulla Shahid told Minivan News that the relationship between the Human Resources Ministry and the Immigration Department prior to the MNDF’s intervention had been “strained”, and that there was no shared IT system linking the records of both.

In addressing the claims, Latheef said that he believed that the appointment in February of Abdulla Shahid to the post of immigration controller had already led to changes in inter-departmental policy concerning visa allowances.

“Especially with the former controller [Ilyas Hussein Ibrahim], it was not easy to hold discussions on any matter. I’m not criticising his policies or administrative capacity. But as politicians, we should be able to sit down and discuss anything we want to and try and find a comfortable solution – especially when we are in the same government,” he said. “Now it is very much easier for me. Even today I had a meeting with the controller [Shahid] and the defense minister discussing this [visa] issue.”

The human resources minister claimed that distrust in the past between his own office and the Department of Immigration had perhaps prevented important information being shared between the two bodies.

“For instance, the Immigration Department would not share with us the information on issues of working visas because of mistrust they had – and vice versa. With these new developments, all this information could be viewed by a lot more government agencies,” he said. “I’m not sure on this, as we are still discussing the matter, but the police should be a party that are able to see and view all our data from the ministry. If we issue a work permit to anyone, there should be other agencies in the government who should be able to view this from their computers. It’s always a check when someone else is watching you.”

Ultimately, Latheef said that he believed cabinet ministers had to show more trust in their own judgments on key policy issues, rather than relying wholeheartedly on civil servants from within their departments.

While claiming that he was not aware of anyone within his ministry who was deliberately trying to undermine the government, Latheef said that he was concerned some politicians were relying too much on civil servants who had held their positions for almost two decades.

“I’m not aware of anyone who is deliberately following an agenda of the previous government in this ministry, but knowingly or unknowingly, some people tend to work in alliance with [them],” he said. “In other words, sometimes they forget the government has changed and that it is a new bunch of people running the country now, with a very different manifesto and manner of administration and its time they understand that. That has been there, even in this ministry.”

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Parliament deadlocks over control of influential committees

Parliament has deadlocked as the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) grapple for control of parliament’s most powerful and influential committees.

Parliamentary regulation dictates that composition of committees such as the 241 ‘National Security’ and Finance Committees is determined based on party representation, which has shifted following the recent defection of three opposition MPs to the ruling party.

One of these former opposition MPs, Ali Waheed, chairs the National Security Committee.

In a bid to head off MDP control of the committees, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Party Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali was meeting with Jumhoree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim to discuss a potential coalition agreement, DRP MP Ahmed Nihan confirmed.

Of parliament’s 12 committees the MDP control five seats, the DRP 4, while the rest were chaired by Independents, Nihan said.

While agreeing that greater representation entitled the MDP to greater committee presence, “there are certain circumstances it which committees concerned with public accountability, finance and national security should [be held] by the opposition,” he said.

The cancellation of sessions this week due to the deadlock not only delaying the passing of many important bills, he said, but “also compromising the work of my own committee on social services. We are working on a Right to Information Bill with stakeholders and experts from all over the world.”

DRP Deputy Leader Ibrahim Shareef said the MDP’s bid for control of the committees was “a real matter of concern”, and also claimed that oversight committees in many other countries, such as the UK and India, were headed by opposition figures.

He acknowledged that the DRP was in discussions with other opposition-aligned parties regarding the forming of a coalition. The party is already formally allied with the People’s Alliance (PA) and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), but not yet Gasim’s Jumhoree Party.

“We are in discussion,” he said. The party was, he said, “open to everything”, and acknowledged that a formal coalition agreement with the Jumhoree Party would strengthen the party regardless of the factional battle current waging between Thasmeen and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s ‘Z-DRP’.

“There are many positions on which we agree. Gasim was once deputy leader of the DRP and his political and ideology remain similar,” Shareef said.

The MDP’s play for the committees comes as the party is seeking to pass a number of bills it regards as critical for the country’s future prosperity, notably a package of economic and taxation reforms it has pledged to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). If debate over the bills erupt, their fate is likely to be decided by the Finance Committee, which in 2009 increased state budget expenditure by 20 percent.

“We do not oppose modernising and reforming the tax system, but it is a concern when government expenditure is 55 percent of GDP and the government is not doing enough to bring that down,” Shareef said.

The government’s proposed income tax only targets people earning more than Rf 30,000 a month – “taxing the rich is not a problem,” Shareef said – but many such earners include landlords, he noted.

“Rents will just go up, and this will have an adverse effect on people who can least afford it,” he said. “Taxation would be a huge drain, particularly for people already paying high rents in Male’.”

MDP Parliamentary Group Leader and MP Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, MP Eva Abdulla, MP Ahmed Hamza and MDP Spokesperson Ahmed Haleem were not responding at time of press.

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Civil Court suspends Champa’s Rf100 million fine for environmental damage, as case begins

The Civil Court has issued an injunction on the Rf100 million fine levied against local business tycoon Mohamed ‘Champa’ Moosa, by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for illegal reclamation work on Thunbafushi, reports Haveeru.

Champa’s lawyer, former Attorney General Azima Shukoor, is contesting that the EPA violated the constitution and the Environment Protection Act by imposing a fine on him.

The EPA labelled Champa an “environmental criminal” for irreversibly damaging the island of Thun’bafushi and the marine ecosystem of Thun’bafalhu.

After three surveys of the area, the EPA assessed the damage as amounting to Rf2,230,293,566 (US$144.6 million), not including the impact of sedimentation from the dredging which can smother coral kilometres from the site.

A foreign consultant who was involved in surveying the island told Minivan News in an earlier interview that the area “seems to have been used as a dumping ground.”

“There were what looked like hundreds of used car batteries, waste metals and oil drums leeching into the marine environment,” the consultant said.

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MFDA shuts down Billabong International School’s canteen

The Maldives Food and Drugs Authority (MFDA) has shutdown Billabong International High School’s canteen after the authority’s inspectors determined that it did not meet hygiene regulations.

Media Coordinator of the MFDA Jameela Adam said the authority would not close an eatery if the condition of the place was “not that poor.’”

“Our first priority is to suggest the improvement of the hygiene condition without forcing them to shut down their business,’’ said Jameela. ‘’But there is this certain criteria that all food outlets are required to have, which is the minimum standard. If any food outlet’s condition is poorer than those standards, we ask them to close the place immediately.’’

The MFDA has ceased providing reasons for the closures after complaints from outlet owners. Prior to that details for closures were disclosed – in one instance, a teashop was shut after inspectors discovered a live goat in the toilet.

‘’I can confirm that the hygiene condition of Billabong’s canteen was very poor,’’ she said. ‘’We took pictures and showed them what we found, and they also agreed that they had to correct those issues.’’

‘’Issues such as finding live animals, cockroaches, house flies and other foreign materials inside the food outlets are normally the major issues,’’ she said.

Jameela also noted that food inspectors had observed that a lot of expatriate food outlets in Hulhumale’ had been operating without the authorisation of the MFDA.

‘’We have closed many expat food outlets in Hulhumale’ for operating without MFDA permission,’’ she said.

She also said it was not the aim of the MFDA to shut down food outlets.

‘’Our goal is to ensure that safe food provided to customers in all food outlets,’’ she added.

Recently, famous restaurants such as West Park, Raaveriya and Alfresco Café were closed by the MFDA. Most reopened after addressing the authority’s complaints.

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