The Maldives Health Professionals Union (MHPU) has raised concerns over possible lack of over-time allowance for health workers in light of the new pay framework.
After the government announced the last 10 days of Ramadan as a holiday period, it said that employees or workers requiring to come out for their professional duties due to the nature of their work, will be subject to a special allowance.
In response to this, MHPU said that health industry workers and medical professionals were forced to work beyond the usual working hours, without over-time pay, in violation to the new pay framework that came into effect on May 1, 2023.
It argued the new pay framework stipulates that healthcare workers cannot be compelled to work overtime exceeding 10% of their basic salary.
MHPU also argued that it do not believe healthcare workers should not be compelled to work beyond the allowed over-time duration according to the pay framework, and any conduct otherwise would be in breach of the Maldives Employment Act.