Over 100 Fenaka staff in Addu dismissed, mayor alleges political discrimination

More than 100 Fenaka Corporation employees from Addu have been dismissed, with Addu City Mayor Ali Nizar alleging that political affiliation was taken into account when deciding which employees would lose their jobs.

Nizar made the allegation in a social media post on Friday, calling on residents of Addu to protest against the dismissals.

He said the loss of more than 100 jobs at the state-owned utility company would affect families that depend on the employees' incomes and have consequences for Addu's economy.

Nizar claimed it had been confirmed that the political views of employees were considered during the dismissal process.

He called for opposition to what he described as discrimination in the implementation of the workforce reductions.

Nizar also accused the government of obstructing development in Addu and mistreating residents, and urged people to exercise their constitutional rights by protesting within the limits of the law.

“And I assure you that I will stand with the citizens in this matter,” Nizar wrote.

The dismissals come as Fenaka undertakes changes to its workforce and organisational structure.

In July, the People's Majlis directed Fenaka to establish a new organisational structure after determining the workforce required to operate its branches across the islands.

The Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) has also instructed state-owned enterprises to reduce employee numbers by 33 per cent as part of the government's rightsizing programme.

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has alleged that around 90 per cent of employees dismissed from state-owned companies under the programme are members of the party.

Some employees affected by the dismissals have filed cases with the Employment Tribunal challenging the decisions.

The government has rejected allegations that political affiliation is being used as a factor in deciding which employees are made redundant.

Finance and Public Enterprises Minister Hassan Zareer told parliament this week that the government had not instructed state-owned companies to dismiss employees based on their political views.

He said decisions relating to staffing and day-to-day operations remained with the companies, while the government had issued policy-level instructions aimed at reducing expenditure and restructuring state-owned enterprises.