Fired underperforming staff, some exploiting their positions: MIFCO

State-owned fishing company, Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company Ltd (MIFCO) has declared that those fired from the company were negligent staff and asserted that all employees who conduct themselves as such will be terminated.

Many employees of Gaafu Alif atoll's Kooddoo Fisheries Complex, a processing facility of MIFCO, have been protesting on various social media platforms that they were fired from work without grounds, further revealing their termination letters on the platforms.

Media official of MIFCO, Ibrahim Saeed (Cade) said in response to an inquiry by Mihaaru News that the terminated employees do not have the rights to claim they were terminated without grounds.

"Those terminated (from Felivaru Fisheries Complex) were employees who failed to show up at work for five days. [Policies allow] automatic termination of employees without any reason should they not sign in to office for 15 days a year," said Ibrahim.

"After their payroll, their documents were submitted. We had begun informing [employees] that the company is not in a great financial position long back. The company needs to proceed engineering programs and begin re-structure work."

Ibrahim said that they are unable to clarify the number of terminated employees.

"There are people who have these issues like not being punctual, obtaining money through illegal means, maintaining their position through exploitation of the position's power and people who were hired without notifying. Such people will also be fired from MIFCO's head office, even in the future," said Ibrahim.

Addressing claims that a person with special needs was terminated from work, he said that the company reviews whether the employees signs into work on time, or if superiors were notified of a reason for late attendance.

"Even if it is a person with special needs, they need to inform the reason for late attendance. The practice before was, if action is taken against them, they reach out to the parliamentarian of their constituency. They rehire themselves back into the company using the member."

Ibrahim further argued that MIFCO employees have also exploited overtime benefits offered by the company.

"People who add overtime for the whole day. If this is to believed, they haven't even eaten during the day. Hadn't slept either. How on earth did they work this much throughout the day? Such disagreeable conduct has also been observed in the company," said Ibrahim.

He proclaimed that no employee of MIFCO was fired from work without due reason.

"We daresay with 100 percent certainty that no employees of MIFCO were fired from work baselessly without a reason."

As an example, Ibrahim recalled that employees hired by the former administration to managerial positions at the company still remain in their positions.