Fuvahmulah council raises alarm over sudden Fenaka and WAMCO layoffs

Fuvahmulah City Council has expressed concern over the sudden dismissal of several employees from the Fenaka and WAMCO branches in Fuvahmulah.

In a statement issued on Saturday evening, the council said it had been informed that staff working in both the Fenaka branch and the WAMCO branch in the city had been dismissed.

The council said the sudden termination of employees would cut off their source of income and create hardship for their families.

The opposition MDP-majority council said employees were being dismissed regardless of their performance or political affiliation.

The council said that while companies may lay off staff, dismissing ordinary employees for political reasons during a period of economic difficulty would violate the rights of many people.

The council noted that during its visit to Fuvahmulah in August, Fenaka and WAMCO had assured them that ongoing projects would continue without interruption. However, the council said these projects have now been halted without explanation.

Therefore, the council called for the reinstatement of the dismissed employees.

It is worth noting that the Fenaka branch in Addu City has also laid off a large number of staff. Two weeks ago, Addu City Mayor Ali Nizar said nearly 90 employees had been dismissed. The Addu City Fenaka branch has since confirmed that 189 employees were laid off, and its Viber channel has been actively opposing the dismissals.

The Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) earlier this month ordered all state-owned companies to complete their redundancy exercises within three months.