Will send Industrial Relations Bill to parliament next week: Pres
"It is my hope that the Maldives will be a safe and secure environment for all those working in different industries," he said.
By
Ahmed Mizyal
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said on Friday that the Industrial Relations Bill, which legally guarantees workers the right to form and operate unions, will be sent to parliament next week.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Workers' Congress to mark the anniversary of the Maldives Trade Union Congress (MTUC), President Solih highlighted the government's efforts to ensure the rights of the workers.
The president said that finding a way for unions to be registered and run in the Maldives is an important task to be done in the interest of the workers. He said the process of drafting the 'Industrial Relations Bill' has been completed.
"I will send the bill to parliament in the opening week," he said.
He said the bill has now been drafted after taking into account the concerns raised by the MTUC about it.
He said that since the bill became law:
-
Workers will legally be assured of their right to form and run unions
-
A robust mechanism can be put in place to deal with disputes between employers and employees
-
The disputes between the two sides will be resolved through dialogue, which will help create a stronger relationship between employers and employees
"It is my hope that the Maldives will be a safe and secure environment for all those working in different industries," he said.
He also highlighted some of the initiatives taken by his government to improve the living conditions of the workers and increase their incomes. The most important of these was the minimum wage.
He said the benefits of minimum wages are being extended to workers in all sectors.
"I am hopeful that the change in wages, especially with the change in the minimum wage, will now provide better alternatives to the 13,000-odd employees in the tourism sector who were not benefiting from it," he said.
"We have already brought about a positive change in the income of the 15,000-odd government employees."
He also mentioned the changes in the law to ensure that the benefit of service charge is available to the people. He talked about the ongoing efforts to introduce the unemployment insurance benefit as part of the plan.
"For this to happen, we are in the process of compiling two copies of the relevant law with foreign technical assistance on the changes required in the legal framework," he said.
He said the bill would also be sent to parliament without any further delay.
