Transparency: Denying minimum wage to expats goes against constitution and treaties

Transparency Maldives has spoken against delaying minimum wage for expats working in the Maldives indefinitely, saying that it opposes the constitution and disregards diplomatic treaties.

The government presented a bill that proposes to delay the minimum wage for expats working in the Maldives indefinitely. The amendments brought to the Employment Act concerning “minimum wage” states that foreign individuals will be subject to minimum wage, two years from the date of ratification of the amendment.

Transparency Maldives’ statement asserted that denying minimum wage to foreign nationals contradicts the treaty signed at “Equal Remuneration Convention” on January 4, 2013.

Transparency also claimed that the proposed amendment allows undercompensating foreigners for their labor, which clearly violates the “non-discrimination” clause in Article 4(a) of the “Employment Act”.

Moreover, transparency asserted that denying expats a minimum wage promotes undue benefit on the employer's part while allowing unlawful undercompensation. Transparency stated that the amendment paints employment of Maldivians as a hardship and the proposal itself points to how undervalued and underappreciated Maldivian workers are.

Transparency also stated that the new amendment will result in less employment opportunities to locals, negatively affects societal upheaval, hinders social security and increases the unemployed population of youth.

Citing the 2019 census, transparency pointed out that there were 317,482 people of working age, of which only 191,270 people were employed and this amendment would only decrease this number.

Transparency has called on the government to retract proposed changes to the amendment and get rid of the discrimination between local and foreign employees within the workforce.