Law being amended to allow cabinet to determine expat numbers

An amendment has been proposed to Parliament today which would authorize the cabinet to determine the maximum number of expatriate workers that can be brought from a specific country.

As the Employment Act currently stands, the maximum number of expatriate workers that can be allowed in Maldives from a specific country is 100,000. The law says if the number of expatriates exceed this number, then the total has to be lowered to fit in the margin.

The amendment proposed to this act by the government says that the number and areas in which expatriates can be brought in to Maldives will be determined in accordance with a regulation formed under this law.

The bill says that these numbers should be determined in light of an assessment done to gauge the impact that foreigners filling these positions would have on the job market, and under the advice of the cabinet.

The assessment must study the challenges in the job market, the necessity for foreign workers in important areas, the number of foreign workers serving in jobs, and the number of foreign workers working illegally.

Points to consider when determining the numbers

- The availability of skilled workers for an important industry or business

- Changes of improvement in skill and standard through hiring foreigners to jobs in a specific sector

- The adverse effects on development that the lack of employees in a specific sector would have

- The level in which increasing numbers of foreign workers in a specific sector may threaten sovereignty and national security

The bill says that the regulation formed under the Act must define the period in which necessary action will be taken to decrease the number of workers if the total increases the determined numbers.

It says that this period must be set after giving adequate notice which does not exceed a period of 36 months.

The previous government had placed a halt on bringing in expatriate workers from Bangladesh as the total number in country exceeded 100,000. Instead, permits were granted to bring in workers from India.

However, this government revoked the decision and allowed for bringing in Bangladeshi workers as well.