Transparency Maldives (TM) has called on the government to amend the Public Health Emergency Bill 2020, to include the rights of all migrant workers.

The government endorsed bill, submitted by Central-Fuvahmulah constituency MP Hussain Mohamed Didi on May 29, focuses on taking special measures to provide safety and assistance to specific groups of people and families who have been deprived of their essential needs and businesses during the state of public health emergency announced by the government, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The bill contains provisions which ensure housing protections, special rights and protections for employees, financial assistance provided by the state to destitute and at-risk persons, tax relief for businesses, and rules regarding audio and video proceedings of the courts and tribunals.

Transparency Maldives, who previously expressed concern over the bill suspending the obligations of time of performance by public offices in the Right to Information Act, stressed that “no one should be left behind in the provision of affordable healthcare, especially during a pandemic”.

As such, TM said that it believed that Article 12 of the bill “excludes through omission, the details of healthcare for expatriates married to Maldivians”.

It stressed that Article 12 (c) “excludes provision of affordable healthcare for undocumented migrant workers”.

Article 12 (c) states that the government will ensure Covid-19 related treatments to migrant workers whose visas have expired and are under state care.

Noting that most migrant workers are not under state care, the organization said that “excluding them in this bill means a large demographic will be deprived of affordable healthcare”.

Hence, Transparency Maldives recommended to amend Article 12 (c) “to proactively ensure that migrant workers are provided adequate healthcare by their employers”.

Further, it emphasized that it is the state’s responsibility “to ensure that everyone is entitled to affordable and adequate healthcare”.

The migrant worker population has been identified as one of the most vulnerable communities to Covid-19.