MMA governor calls for salary parity between SOEs, civil servants

Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Governor Ahmed Munawar on Thursday advocated for aligning the salaries of employees in government-owned companies with those of civil service employees, stating they should be equal to or lower.

Munawar made these remarks while appearing before the Parliamentary Budget Committee to review next year’s budget.

He emphasised that government-owned companies are among the largest areas of state expenditure. According to Munawar, these companies should take measures to curb their spending when new reforms are introduced to reduce state costs.

“In government-owned companies, where financial support from the state is involved, salaries should be closely evaluated,” Munawar stated. “If the government is providing funding, these salaries should be set at a level equal to or lower than those in the civil service. Without such measures, the reform process is unlikely to succeed.”

Currently, salaries in government-owned companies are higher than those received by civil service employees.