Gasim continues to protest in Parliament over expatriate rights issues

Maamigili MP and leader of Jumhoori Party Gasim Ibrahim has expressed discontent today against government aligned MPs support for the amendment proposed to the Employment Act by the government to levy a fine of MVR 50,000 against employers who are negligent towards expatriate workers.

The amendment to the Employment Act proposed by the government states that employees who bring in expatriate workers to the Maldives, and then are negligent towards them, such as failing to pay wages, will be fined by MVR 50,000 and their names released to the public.

The Committee on Security Services is currently reviewing this bill. In today's meeting, Gasim declared that he stands against all points included in the amendment and described it as a huge loss to the people.

Gasim said that laws like this should not be passed to make citizens 'go broke'.

"Find out how many people even earn MVR 50,000, how much work a person has to do to earn MVR 50,000," Gasim angrily retorted.

Gasim similarly voiced out in anger in yesterday's committee meeting as well, where amendments to the Employment Act were being reviewed. He said then that he is also against increasing the fees charged for bringing in expatriate workers.

Gasim voiced concerns that should the expatriate fees be raised, it would cause loss to construction field companies and a rise in inflation. He cautioned that this would cause further damage to the economy.

Gasim's comments today were backed by Hanimaadhoo MP Abdul Ghafoor Moosa of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Ghafoor said that a fine of MVR 50,000 against each expatriate that an employer is negligent towards is too major a penalty, saying that leniency must be given based on the level of severity of the offence.

He said that a blanket fine of this amount for every transgression would result in causing hardship to those involved.

Government aligned MPs in the Committee disagreed. They said that the intention behind this amendment is not to cause loss to any persons, but rather to solve the 'expatriate issues' faced by the country, even if through taking strict action.

They maintain that the amendments be passed as they are.

This resulted in further inciting Gasim's anger, who responded that the government MPs were reacting emotionally to the issue, without understanding the complexities of employing expatriates.

"Even if you get elected and come here as an MP, to what extent do you understand the thought and processes of running a State, of building a country's peace and economy? It is not a good sound when people who have no inkling of these things come here and claim to be MPs and speak nonsense," Gasim said.

Gasim exclaimed that with People's National Congress now holding supermajority in parliament, they could go ahead and pass these amendments regardless of his objections, and then went on to warn that those MPs will end up being adversely affected later on by the decisions that they are making today.

He said that both the previous administrations led by former Presidents Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Abdulla Yameen had ended up being hurt by their own actions, adding that this administration, too, will end up facing the same bitter end.

"I have no care if you want to answer back to me when I speak truth and facts. I will say what I want."

Despite Gasim's objections, the committee today passed the bill with the proposed amendments.