Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail has revealed minimum wage will be declared before the end of February.
The minister made the statement following the submission of the amendment to the Employment Act of Maldives seeking to grant authority of establishing a minimum wage to the economic minister. In a tweet, the economic minister said the minimum wage will be declared before end of February after consultation on the methodology and the amount with the parliament.
Establishing a minimum wage in Maldives is an electoral pledge of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. The amendment proposed to the Employment Act does not specify an amount as the minimum wage.
The amendment also proposes establishing a Minimum Wage Advisory Board to survey business establishments and its staff. The board established by the president must comprise of 11 members and appointments to the board must be made within 30 days of the ratification of bill.
Meanwhile, several sectors such as fisheries, agriculture, construction, tourism, transportation, education, health and small and medium sized businesses are to be referred before establishing a minimum wage. Furthermore, the amendment notes the minimum wage must be revised every two years.
The amendment stated the minimum wage must be established by a circular issued by the economic minister within 30 days following advisory and research from the board. The minimum wage must define the amount per hour, amount per sector and overtime.