Committee passes amendments prioritizing locals in tourism

The Parliament’s Committee in Social Affairs has passed amendments to the Employment Act so that 60 percent of senior management roles in the tourism industry would be allocated for locals.

The amendment will also prioritize locals for top human resources management roles. The amendments passed in the Committee stages will be subjected to a vote in the parliament.

Amendments regarding the senior management roles of the tourism industry were proposed by MP for Ihavandhoo Mohamed Shifau. The amendment called to allocate 60 percent of tourism industry senior management positions for locals in addition to the prioritization of locals for the senior HR roles of companies with more than 50 employees. 

The amendments were passed by the Committee last night. Debates about when to implement the amendments were discussed at the Committee. The Committee agreed that the amendments should be in effect within five years of being ratified.

MP Shifau, speaking Sun last night, said that the amendments were because the influence of foreigners in the local tourism industry had grown too strong. The five-year plan for implementation was so that industry employees could be trained and developed for the roles.