The number of Bangladeshi workers currently in the Maldives is 90,000, the government has said.
The disclosure comes after the Economic Ministry's latest reports with figures on foreign workers in the Maldives were deleted from the ministry's social platforms.
On Sunday, the government allowed bringing unskilled laborers to the country from Bangladesh again in violation of the limit stated in the employment law.
According to Article 65(a) of the Employment Act, the number of workers from a single country must not exceed 100,000. The latest figures released by the Economic Ministry show that 139,220 Bangladeshis work in Maldives.
Speaking to Adhadhu on the issue, Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusan said the reports show the number of active work permits, which do not reflect the number of workers in the Maldives at present as it includes people who have returned to their countries.
"The number here at the moment shown by Immigration's border control is 90,624 Bangladeshi workers," Ihusan said.
The minister said he was not aware of the exact reason why the Economic Ministry deleted the report last night. Ihusan said he did not believe the report should have been deleted.
However, the reason for deleting the report has not been confirmed as Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed has not been responding to phone calls.
Bringing unskilled workers to the country from Bangladesh was banned in 2019. The decision was made by a taskforce formed by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to solve the problem of undocumented workers.
The government also carried out a regularization program for foreigners residing illegally in the Maldives without documentation.
According to immigration statistics, there are 63,000 undocumented migrant workers in the Maldives. However, unofficial estimates put the figure closer to 100,000.
The regularization program carried out by the Economic Ministry was the largest effort undertaken by any government to resolve the issue of undocumented workers.
