The government has made arrangements for health workers who retired after reaching the age of 55 and 65 to work on a contract basis. The decision was made after holding discussions at a Cabinet meeting.
At a press conference, Principal Secretary to the President Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim said the government has made the decision to allow retired health workers to return to work in the health sector. As such, those who are in good health and have the necessary qualifications will be employed on a contract basis if they wish.
Additionally, Nazim said the Ministry of Health is in charge of the initiative to allow the retired health workers to return to work. In addition, the government will work with the relevant authorities to implement similar policies in other sectors before the end of the President's first 14 weeks in office.
Moreover, Nazim said that a survey shows that retired health workers such as nurses are willing to come in to work for as little as four hours. As such, he said that workers who have left the health sector for various reasons will be able to return to work under a special scheme. He added that the Civil Service Commission's policies will be changed to provide wages for those willing to work less than eight hours. He described the initiative as an important step to increase the experience and competence of the health sector's workforce as well as increase the number of Maldivians in all the important sectors.