The Home Ministry announced yesterday that, under newly amended regulations, wage payments to expatriate workers will be legally recognised only if the funds are deposited into a local bank account as required.
Following last month's amendments to the Regulation on Employment of Foreigners, the Ministry has directed that all salaries for expatriate employees working in the Maldives must be deposited into bank accounts opened in the employee's name at a local bank.
Citing the regulation, the Ministry issued a public notice urging all employers to expedite the process of opening bank accounts for their foreign staff as soon as possible.
The Ministry further clarified that the Labour Relations Authority (LRA) will adhere to this standard during investigations into wage-related disputes involving expatriate workers. Employers will only be deemed to have fulfilled their salary obligations if the transaction is reflected in a local bank account registered to the employee, the Ministry stated.
This reminder is viewed as an effort by the Ministry to ensure strict compliance with the new mandate. When the regulation was amended, the Ministry outlined several penalties for employers who fail to deposit salaries through the formal banking system.
Disciplinary actions include the cancellation or reduction of employment quotas, administrative fines, blacklisting on the "Expat" online system, and the referral of cases to investigative authorities.
This policy shift is part of a broader set of government measures aimed at addressing the national dollar shortage. Under these changes, cash salary payments are now strictly prohibited. Even in instances where both the employer and employee claim that wages were paid in cash, the law will not recognise such transactions as valid salary payments.
The move is also expected to streamline investigations into the non-payment of wages and ensure that foreign workers receive their due compensation. The issue of unpaid wages has been a persistent challenge in the Maldives, particularly in industries that rely heavily on manual and unskilled labour.
