Support Maldives Health Professionals Union

The union movement is very new in the Maldives. PSI’s new affiliate, the Maldives Health Professionals Union (MHPU) formed in 2019.  But just as they started organising, the pandemic hit. Now the union is seeking our support for a campaign to get health workers a well-deserved pay rise and fair conditions.

Since 2008, job structures for all health professionals in public hospitals in Maldives have been on hold. The absence of a job structure denies workers promotion opportunities. At the same time, salaries and wages have not been reviewed for more than fifteen years for workers in the public health sector.

Following the national elections in 2018, nurses got their career pathway (job structure). However, no salary revisions or career pathway was introduced for allied health professionals and health support staff  which include:

• Audiologists and Speech Therapists

• Biomedical Engineers

• Dental hygienists

• Dieticians

• Food and Safety Professionals

• Health Inspectors Professionals

• Health Policy Managers

• Medical Laboratory Technologists

• Medical and Dental Prosthetists Professionals

• Medical Imaging Technologists

• Medical Records and Health Information

• Occupational Therapists

• Optometrists

• Paramedics and Emergency Management

• Pharmacists

• Physiotherapists

• Health Support Staff - Clinical Assistants, other non medical technical staff (electricians, plumbers, etc), customer relations officers, attendants, procurement officers.

In 2019, Maldives Health Professionals Union (MHPU) formed and started lobbying the government to enact a technical job structure for all allied health professionals in the public sector. This includes implementation of job structures that ensure promotions and significant salary increments for all health professionals including the support staff.

Earlier this year, the Government of Maldives started the National Pay Harmonization Work, a new job classifications and career pathway applicable to all state-employed workers. This was first implemented to the teachers in May 2022 resulting in significant pay rise.

The government of Maldives has submitted the budget 2023 to parliament, which includes a budget for the implementation of new job structure for health technical workers (i.e. Doctors, Nurses and all allied health professionals). This is a major win for MHPU. However, health support staff which comprise 40% of health care workers in the public sector are still excluded.    

MHPU has completed three cycles of negotiations with the ministry of health, civil service commission, ministry of finance, national pay commission and the president's office which spanned from 2019 to March 2022. Since May 10, 2022, MHPU has held Thursday pickets calling on the government for a date to implement the job structures for all health care workers.

PSI calls on its global affiliates to support and amplify the campaign of our affiliate in Maldives for a fair promotion plan and significant pay rise for ALL healthcare workers.

Join the Twitter Action this week

Take a photo of yourself holding a sign with occupation, country/location and Tweet to the Government of Maldives by tagging @governmentmv @iameeru @Ahmed_hamdhan @KerafaNaseem @faya_i @MaldivesHPU

Feel free to use any of the following messages or compose your own

• Our union joins in solidarity with @MaldivesHPU @PSIasiapacific to support allied health workers in the Maldives. ALL health workers deserve fair pay #SupportStaffMatter  

• We call upon the Maldivian government to implement technical job structures with fair wages for healthcare professionals including the support staff before 2022 ends. #SupportStaffMatter @MaldivesHPU @PSIasiapacific

• We support health professionals in Maldives. Just promotions and significant pay rises for ALL health professionals including support staff NOW! #SupportStaffMatter  @MaldivesHPU @PSIasiapacific

• #SupportStaffMatter We call on the Maldivian Government to Implement the Health Work Job Matrices NOW! @MaldivesHPU @PSIasiapacific

For more information contact:

• Maldives Health Professionals Unions (MHPU): Fathimath Zimna(General Secretary), [email protected], or

• Public Services International (PSI): Ananya Basu, [email protected]; or  Jane Siwa, [email protected]