Members of the People’s National Congress (PNC) in the 20th People’s Majlis have asserted that the ongoing staff reductions within state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are being conducted in full compliance with legal requirements, ensuring all employee rights and benefits are maintained.

The downsizing initiative follows a directive from the Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB), which issued a circular on July 12 instructing companies to reduce their workforce by 33 percent by the end of August. The move is aimed at optimizing organizational structures and curbing excessive expenditures within state-linked corporations.

During a parliamentary session, PNC members emphasized that dismissals are being executed according to internal policies and national labor laws. Feydhoo MP Ibrahim Didi highlighted that laid-off employees are receiving their full entitlements, with some being offered soft loans to facilitate the launch of private business ventures.

PNC Parliamentary Group Leader and Inguraidhoo MP, Ibrahim Falah, dismissed recent resolutions from the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), characterizing them as misleading. He argued that the absence of a specific list of unfairly dismissed individuals in the opposition’s claims proves that the government’s actions are both lawful and compassionate.