MPL in hot water; clash between employees’ overtime pay claims and company’s denial

Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) has stated that while they have decided to take some measures to reduce the company's expenses, there is no intention to cut the overtime pay for work done by employees outside of regular hours.

MPL made this statement in response to reports that the company had cut overtime pay for its employees for the next six months.

Speaking to RaajjeMV, an MPL media official highlighted that in accordance with company policies, if an employee works overtime to complete tasks that were not finished during regular hours, they will always be paid the overtime they are entitled to.

However, the official said that to improve the company's operations and promote employee well-being, MPL always prioritizes not having employees work more than eight hours.

The official stated that all departments plan their work accordingly, so that employees can complete the day's tasks within regular hours.

Noting that some measures are being planned to reduce company expenses in support of the government's cost-cutting efforts, the official said there is no intention to reduce the overtime pay given to employees for work done outside regular hours as part of cost-cutting measures.

However, speaking to RaajjeMV earlier, an MPL employee revealed that HR had sent a message to a group on Tuesday saying overtime pay would not be given, though it had not been officially announced through a memo.

RaajjeMV has obtained a screenshot of said message. The message states that due to extreme budget constraints, the CEO has advised stopping all overtime work across all departments for the next six months.

Therefore, it instructs employees to complete assigned tasks during regular hours and to prioritize regular hours when planning work. It also states that going forward, overtime pay will only be given to employees who come to work with special permission in sudden situations requiring their presence.

In addition to this, the last employee leaving each department or section is requested to turn off all lights and air conditioners. It also instructs for air conditioner temperatures to be kept at 25 degrees or higher.