Observación (CEACR) - Adopción: 2025, Publicación: 114ª reunión CIT (2026)

Convenio sobre la libertad sindical y la protección del derecho de sindicación, 1948 (núm. 87) - Maldivas (Ratificación : 2013)

The Committee notes the observations of the Tourism Employees Association of Maldives (TEAM), received on 29 April 2022, and the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF), received on 9 December 2022. The Committee notes the concerns raised by IUF at the lack of consultations in the elaboration of the Industrial Relations Act. The Committee further notes TEAM’s observations that workers have no rights to join or establish the union of their choice, that workers organization cannot represent their members as the judicial system does not recognize trade unions as workers’ representatives, and that the Government failed to communicate to it its reports on the application of ratified Conventions. The Committee requests the Government to respond thereto and further requests the Government to ensure that its reports on the application of ratified Conventions are shared with representative organizations of workers and employers for their observations, as per Member States’ obligation under article 23(2) of the ILO Constitution.

The Committee welcomes the adoption of Act No. 3/2022 (Associations Act) on 9 May 2022 repealing the Associations Act of 2003 and of the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) on 2 January 2024, following ILO technical assistance since 2013.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the new Associations Act provides detailed provisions on the right to form and operate associations, the procedures for establishing, registering, and operating associations, the rights and characteristics of associations, and the responsibilities and powers of the Registrar. The Government explains that until 3 July 2024 unions (of workers and employers) were registered under the Associations Act; following the adoption of the IRA, such organizations are registered under the latter Act. The Government further explains that the IRA established the primary legal framework for regulating labour relations in the Maldives, including the right to form unions and engage in collective bargaining. It indicates that Regulation No. R-74/2024 (Regulation on Associations) details the procedures for the registration and operation of civil society organizations, and that Regulation No. R-56/2024 (Regulation on the Registration and Operation of Unions) specifies the procedures for the establishment, registration, operation, and dissolution of workers’ and employers’ unions, federations, and national centres. The Government also reports on the finalization of additional regulations under the IRA on the procedures related to formulation of collective agreements, initiation of collective bargaining and settlement of disputes.

Article 2 of the Convention. Right of workers and employers, without distinction whatsoever, to establish organizations. The Committee notes that section 47(a) of the IRA states that every child above the age of 16 in employment may be registered as a member of a union provided that the guardian issues a letter of no objection. The Committee recalls the need to guarantee that minors who have reached the minimum legal age for admission to employment, both as workers and as apprentices, can exercise their trade union rights without parental authorization (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, para. 78). The Committee requests the Government to take all necessary steps in consultation with the social partners to amend section 47(a) of the IRA accordingly.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that section 5 of the IRA exempts persons appointed and dismissed by the President from the application of the Act. The Committee recalls that it has always considered that the right to establish and join occupational organizations should be guaranteed for all public servants and officials, irrespective of whether they are engaged in the state administration at the central, regional or local level, are officials of bodies which provide important public services or are employed in state-owned economic undertakings (2012 General Survey, para. 64). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the categories of employees excluded by this provision and to take necessary measures to ensure that this exclusion from the right to establish trade unions and participate in their operation is limited to members of the police and the armed forces.

Article 3. Freedom to elect representatives. The Committee notes that section 49 of the IRA lists criteria for officers of a union and provides that the person must have been neither found bankrupt by a court, nor convicted for an offence in the last five years. It also requires the majority of the officers of a union to be of Maldivian nationality. The Committee recalls that the autonomy of organizations can be effectively guaranteed only if their members have the right to elect their representatives in full freedom and that public authorities should therefore refrain from any interference which might restrict the exercise of this right. The Committee considers that conviction for an act the nature of which is not such as to call into question the integrity of the person concerned and is not such as to be prejudicial to the performance of trade union duties should not constitute grounds for disqualification from trade union office. The Committee recalls that the requirement to be a national of the country for trade union office prevents the election of migrant workers or foreign nationals and considers that national legislation should allow foreign workers to take up trade union office (2012 General Survey, paras 103, 106 and 107). The Committee therefore requests the Government to take necessary measures to amend section 49 of the IRA in consultation with the social partners so that it does not unduly restrict the right of workers’ organizations to freely elect their representatives.

Article 3. Right to organize administration and activities and to formulate programmes. Essential services. The Committee notes that section 119(f) of the IRA prohibits strikes where participants are engaged in providing an essential service to the public. According to section 127(n) of the IRA, “essential services” refer to the services established to provide the basic needs of living. The Committee recalls that under the Convention, restrictions on the right to strike are permissible only in essential services in the strict sense of the term, that is, services the interruption of which would endanger the lives, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide a list of services considered essential or to indicate body is responsible for determining whether a service is essential under section 119(f) of the IRA, and to provide information on the criteria applied in making such determination.

The Committee previously requested the Government to take necessary measures to repeal section 24(b)(7) of the Freedom of Peaceful Public Assembly Act (which allows assemblies in tourist resorts, commercial harbours and airports only with a prior written approval from the police) and to amend sections 5, 7, 8 and 11 of the Regulation on dispute resolution, so as to remove undue restrictions on the right of workers’ organizations to organize their activities and ensure that all workers covered by the Convention not performing essential services in the strict sense of the term, including those in island resorts, can in practice exercise their right to strike. The Committee notes with regret that the Government repeats its previous statement that the restriction to assemble in resorts is in place considering the “one island one resort” situation and strategic importance of the industry to the Maldives, and that the provision does not completely prohibit the right to assemble in island resorts, as it allows for the right to be exercised with permission from the police. The Committee recalls the concerns raised previously by the Maldivian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) that since workers in tourist resorts live in remote islands, the restriction to assemble imposed by section 24(b)(7) completely denies any form of assembly or gathering without approval of the resort’s owners and that the police have never allowed workers to perform any such activities. The Committee recalls once again that the restrictions and limitations in place on the right to assemble and strike are so broad that they could seriously impede the right of workers’ organizations to organize their activities, including through strike action, especially considering that any stoppage of work could be considered to harm the employer or the workplace or obstruct customer services, in particular in tourist resorts. The Committee once again urges the Government to take necessary measures to repeal section 24(b)(7) of the Freedom of Peaceful Public Assembly Act so as to remove undue restrictions on the right of workers’ organizations to organize their activities and ensure that all workers covered by the Convention not performing essential services in the strict sense of the term, including those in island resorts, can in practice exercise their right to strike. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken or envisaged to that end. The Committee expects that the regulations under the IRA on disputes resolution, which, according to the Government, are being finalized, will be in conformity with the above observations. The Committee requests the Government to supply copies of the Regulations adopted under the IRA.

Articles 2 and 5. The right to form federations and confederations. The Committee notes that pursuant to section 53(a) and (c) of the IRA, five or more unions of the same category registered under the Act may form and register a federation in order to work in collaboration. The Committee considers that the requirement of five organizations of the same category may be too high and could make it difficult for trade unions to establish organizations at a higher level. The Committee thus requests the Government to review the application of this provision with the social partners with a view to reducing the number of unions required to form a federation, and to provide information on measures taken in this respect.

The Committee notes that the IRA provides for the establishment of a National Trade Union Centre and a National Employers Union Centre comprising trade unions and employers’ unions federations, respectively (sections 54 and 55, respectively). The Committee recalls that trade union monopoly imposed by a legislation that explicitly designate a single high-level trade union or employers’ organization is contrary to the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to take necessary measures to amend sections 54 and 55 of the IRA to remove reference to a single trade union or employers’ union centre.

With reference to the above requests to amend various provisions of the IRA, the Committee requests the Government to report on all progress made in this respect in consultation with the social partners.

The Committee previously encouraged the Government to take necessary measures to enable collection of data on the number of workers’ and employers’ organizations registered in the country, the sectors in which they are active, and the number of workers covered, and requested to provide statistics in this regard. In the absence of information on this point, the Committee reiterates its previous request.