Protest in Dhidhdhoo after Fenaka refuses to renew contracts of 53 staff

Staff from the Fenaka branch in HA. Dhidhdhoo staged a protest on Tuesday, following the state utility company’s decision to let go of 53 contract workers.

The 53 workers were hired on contract basis to work at the Fenaka powerhouse in Dhidhdhoo.

According to them, they were told they had been fired after they reported to work on Tuesday morning.

They protest that it is unfair for them to get fired without prior warning.

Fenaka Corporation’s managing director Muaz Mohamed Rasheed told Sun in an earlier interview that over 900 workers from over 40 islands were let go in December, after their contracts expired.

He alleges that the former administration hired hundreds of workers on contract basis ahead of the presidential elections to gain support. The contracts of many of the workers expired on November 30.

According to the information released by the Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB), Fenaka had been the biggest employer among state-owned enterprises at the end of the previous administration, with over 7,000 staff.