The cabinet, senior officials at the President's Office and relevant government agencies have held discussions on setting a minimum wage in Maldives.
The meeting featured presentations by Ministry of Economic Development and the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) on the findings of the two reports prepared on the matter by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Salary and Wage Advisory Board (SAWAB) established by the president on May 1, 2019.
Discussions at the meeting were centred on the ways to introduce and implement a minimum wage policy in the most effective manner. Deliberations were also focused on the outcomes of introducing a minimum wage on the state budget, inflation, gross domestic product (GDP), foreign reserve, exchange rate, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), public and private sector, regional disparities and the economy as a whole.
Establishing a minimum wage in Maldives is an electoral pledge of the administration. Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has announced the minimum wage bill will be completed in the upcoming term of the parliament, which begins in February.