MTCC adds 2,052 employees to workforce under current administration

Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) has reported that its workforce has increased by more than 2,000 employees since the current administration assumed office.

The information was provided to Sun in response to a request submitted under the Right to Information Act, seeking data on employee numbers and expenditure on salaries and benefits from 2021 through the end of last year, as well as figures up to July 2024.

According to the date provided by MTCC on August 16th, the company had 3,129 employees at the end of 2021. The workforce increased to 4,012 by the end of 2022 and rose further to 4,694 by the close of 2023.

Following the change in administration, the number of employees declined to 4,433 by the end of 2024, representing a reduction of 261 staff. However, the workforce subsequently expanded significantly, reaching 5,395 employees by the end of last year.

Current figures for this year show that MTCC’s workforce had grown to 6,145 employees by the end of March.

Notably, on April 18 this year, the Finance Ministry instructed the Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) to reduce the workforce of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) by 33 percent. At the time, MTCC employed 6,479 people. However, by the end of July, the company’s headcount had increased to 6,649, indicating that 329 additional employees were hired during the period in which the company had been instructed to downsize.

In response to questions regarding its expenditure on salaries and benefits, MTCC stated that, as a publicly listed company, its financial statements are periodically published and made available to the public.

During Tuesday’s parliamentary sitting, Finance Minister Hassan Zareer, responding to an inquiry from MDP’s North Galolhu MP Mohamed Ibrahim, confirmed that 4,938 employees had been added to SOEs since the current administration assumed office. He noted that the combined workforce of all SOEs currently exceeds 41,000.

Minister Zareer stressed the need to "right-size" state-owned companies to strengthen the national economy, while asserting that the process would be carried out without consideration of political affiliations.

Notably, following the April directive to reduce SOE staffing by 33 percent, the PCB required the restructuring process to be completed within three months.

The use of state-owned enterprises as avenues for political appointments has been observed under successive administrations in the Maldives. The practice has not only undermined national productivity and adversely affected the economy but has also imposed a significant financial burden on both the corporations and the state.