Until 2008 trade unions were not allowed in the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

, however with the passing of the Employment Act (2008) and the ratification of a new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, trade union rights (including the

right to strike Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became c ...

) were formalised. The changes in the legal structure were the result of the labour movements involvement in the democratic struggles for change in the formerly single-party ruled state. During 2008 the Tourism Employees Association of Maldives (TEAM) emerged as possibly the first trade union in the country. Maldives has applied to be a member of the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

(ILO) and has officially accepted the obligations of the Constitution of the ILO."Maldives formally accepts the ILO obligations" Miadhu News, 4 December 2008

References

External links

Tourism Employees Association of Maldives TEAM

Hotel and resort workers in Maldives ready for indefinite strike to enshrine fundamental labour rights
Trade unions in the Maldives {{Maldives-stub