A request has been made to expedite the amendment proposed to the Employment Act, which would stop resorts from paying service charge to employees in rufiyaa and make it mandatory to distribute the service charge in the currency it was collected in.
The amendment to Article 52 of the Employment Act, proposed by MDP member and Kendhoo constituency MP Mauroof Zakir in December of last year to stipulate that service charge funds must not be converted to Maldivian Rufiyaa when distributed to employees, has been stalled at the committee stage for many days.
Expressing concern over the matter, Galolhu North constituency member Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudu) stated in a letter sent to Parliament Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla that some resorts pay the service charge in MVR, which remains a point of concern for employees.
The letter noted that this hinders many employees working in the tourism sector from receiving their rightful service charge in the fullest manner.
Since the amendment concerning the service charge is directly linked to the rights of thousands of Maldivian employees working in the tourism industry, Ibrahim requested that the matter be advanced through the committee stage as quickly as possible and decided on by the parliamentary floor.
The amendment proposed to the Employment Act states that service charge funds must be distributed to employees in the exact currency in which the funds were received.
Furthermore, the bill proposes ensuring that employees working under outsourced services at resorts, guesthouses, and hotels, who are employed by another company, also receive a service charge.
According to the bill, if employees involved in outsourced services at a tourist facility are performing work that directly provides services to tourists, those employees must also be given a service charge.
It is common practice in Maldivian resorts to outsource the operation of water sports services, dive centers, and souvenir shops. Consequently, resort service charges are typically not received by employees of such establishments, nor are they paid their salaries by the resorts.
Mauroof stated that the bill was submitted because tourism industry establishments collect service charges to be distributed among employees, but convert the collected funds into Maldivian rufiyaa before distribution, which hinders employees from fully reaping the benefits.
Therefore, it is stated that the bill was submitted to ensure that employees fully receive their rightful service charge.
