Bodufinolhu unrest: contractor asserts that they warned police of possible unrest, twice

RIZ Private Limited, the contractor of the development project of Bodufinolhu island in Baa atoll, had consulted with the Maldives Police Service (MPS) regarding the salary issue of expatriate workers on the island, previously as well.

The legal team of the company, which has been working on the project since 2018, released a statement following the unrest that took place in the island on Thursday.

As such, the company revealed that over 200 expatriates are employed under the project and that a majority of the resort project is complete.

The company was tasked with the resort development project by Seal Maldives, with which the company made an agreement to settle a salary of 7,000 per employee with a food allowance of MVR 40 every month.

However, expatriate workers had voiced concern regarding unpaid salaries over the past few months, even having conducted a peaceful rally on May 16. During the protest, expatriate workers called to pay up their salaries and send them back home. The project developer, Seal Maldives had agreed to settle the expenses.

Following this, RIZ had informed police that such a situation might arise where expatriate workers protest, on May 28. The second time, they had brought the case under the attention of authorities on June 27.

RIZ has since held discussions with the authorities on Thursday night, regarding a quick solution for the matter.

Contractor and MP for Milandhoo constituency, Ali Riza has confirmed the validity of the company’s statement to RaajjeMV.

As such, MP Riza noted that they had billed the salaries of the workers to the developer, every month since January 1.

However, the developer had failed to pay the workers their salaries between January and April, despite having billed the amount.