Cyprea Marine Foods (CMF) has said that it was unable to pay workers who protested over non-payment of wages due to difficulties faced after closing down the company’s fish factory.
A group of workers protested outside Cyprea's main office in Male’ and the fish factory in Himmafushi earlier this month saying that they have not been paid for eight months.
CMF, a subsidiary of Cyprea, a group active in several industries, said in a statement on Tuesday that the dispute has no connection to other companies or businesses of the company’s stakeholders.
The company decided to shut down the fish factory and cease operations in November 2023 because it did not expect that difficulties facing the fisheries industry could be overcome, the CMF statement added.
According to the CMF statement, operations resumed in January under a new business model for the sake of workers but the company’s condition only worsened further.
The company has since decided to sell off its investments. But CMF also decided to listen to the complaints of workers and settle the pay dispute.
In order to ensure fairness, efforts are underway with a human rights lawyer assigned as a third party to draw up agreements for settling pending salary payments, the company said.
