Cyprea staff stage protest over unpaid wages amounting to eight months

Employees of Cyprea staged a protest on Tuesday over unpaid wages amounting to almost eight months.

The protest, which took place in front of Cyprea’s head office in Male’ City, was staged by both local and foreign employees.

As per the employees, 53 of them have not been paid their wages for almost eight months, all of whom, have now been dismissed without the payment of their pending wages.

Speaking with Sun on Tuesday, an employee said some colleagues have been unable to pay their rent for almost eight months, adding power has been cut to most Maldivian staff’s residence following their inability to settle the bills.

“Where are our rights? We had worked diligently for eight months, not for free. We will stand up for our rights, no matter where we have to go for it,” the employee said.

Another employee told Sun that the employees initiated the protest when it reached to a point where they were struggling to fulfill their basic needs, despite which they have received no cooperation from the company.

The employee further detailed that the company promised to pay one month’s salary, out of three months’ pending during Ramadan, despite which the payment was never received. Moreover, the employee said the Ramadan allowance had only been disbursed at the end of the month, while 10 employees, eligible for the allowance, did not receive the allowance at all. 

It was also noted by the employee that the company had not paid rent for the accommodation of its foreign employees and that they had been instructed to vacate the premises as a result with nowhere else to go.

The employees also spoke out against the dismissal of some of the staff, citing they were dismissed in violation of the regulations. Henceforth, the employees said the company’s management should be held responsible and in this trajectory, called for their arrest.

According to the employees, the management, during repeated talks, has reiterated that they unsure when the wages can be paid.

Cyprea did not respond to any calls from Sun seeking a comment regarding the matter.

Cyprea is a company involved in the tourism business.