Planning Ministry denies firing MRDC’s contract workers

Planning Ministry has stated that it did not dismiss the Maldives Road Development Corporation (MRDC)’s contract workers after dissolving the corporation.

Speaking to RaajjeMV, Planning Ministry’s State Minister Akram Kamaludeen said that, after the previous administration dissolved MRDC, the ministry did not renew the workers’ contracts.

Akram said that after their contracts ended, President Abdulla Yameen’s government had given them six months’ notice to dismiss them. However, during the transition of power, the previous government had given them an additional three months unlawfully.

He said that President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was sympathetic and had given the workers an additional six months’ notice and that afterwards, the current government have been working to renew the contracts of the outstanding workers and provide others work at other offices.

He said that the current government has also decided not to renew the contracts of negligent workers.

The previous government dissolved MRDC due to management issues due to the major problem of corruption in the corporation. The previous government had also used MRDC to conduct its own political activities.

After MRDC’s dissolution, the ministry had taken in 300 Maldivian workers and 400 expatriates.