Introduction
The Maldives Airports Company Bhd (MlAGL) is a Statutory Corporation that runs, controls and monitors all of Maldives’ airports. With personnel from management, engineering, technology, and service grounding, MACL is dedicated to delivering aviation services within the transportation sector. As a government agency, the Municipal Advisory Committee of the Lodge (MACL) has no labour union members among its staff. Sexual harassment in the professional environment is a significant concern due to its detrimental effects on employee morale, physical well-being, and confidence in the organization (Aji et al., 2024). MACL emerged as an early adopter of preventative measures against sexual harassment in the workplace in the Maldives after implementing the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act in 2012, which mandated employers to establish anti-harassment policies. In this paper, I will analyze the sexual harassment policies implemented at MACL about the Occupational Safety and Health Act Standard and national law. Additionally, I will propose potential enhancements to the policies. The evaluation will ascertain whether or not the organizational policy concerning deference to harassment complies with the mandatory regulations of the Maldives.
Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) Sexual Harassment Policy
Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) is a government-owned company that runs and oversees the airports in Maldives. As part of its promise to give its workers a safe and respectful workplace, MACL has developed a thorough and helpful plan. Stopping and dealing with sexual abuse is part of it. Section 12.1 of the MACL staff handbook contains more information about the subject (Corporate Maldives 2024). As an example of a crime, sexual harassment is telling someone sexual things they don’t want to hear, asking for sexual favours, making sexual jokes, making obscene movements, and sharing sexually explicit materials with other people. The policy says that harassment of women can happen from any male co-worker at any level of the company, from the top to the bottom.
For employees of MACL, there is now a legal way to report harassment in private: they can file complaints against specific HR staff members. HR will be interested in the report and go into depth as required by law as soon as they get it. People who are licensed to bother other people will be punished. This could mean they lose their jobs (Singh et al. 2022). MACL showed its dedication to the fight against sexual harassment at work by creating a thorough policy with clear definitions, standards for reporting, and instructions on who is responsible for what. Then, the Maldivian legal system’s rules, which say that groups must handle harassment cases independently, go into force. By making a copy of their policy, HRCM gets one.
Overview of Relevant Laws in Maldives
The Maldives’ primary law against sexual harassment at work is the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act. (Act No. 162/2014). The government passed this Act in 2014 (Leeza and Kumar 2023). Sexual misconduct of any kind that upsets the balance or creates an uncomfortable, scary, or humiliating work environment is against the law when looking at the practice of clearing goals. This Act makes it clear which sexual acts are not allowed. By law, every business has to have ways to handle sexual behaviour and hold anyone who does it accountable. The last thing it does is protect the rights of workers who report abuse or harassment, not to have to wait for an answer.
In addition to the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act, aspects of the Labor Act (Act No. 2/2008) and Employment Act (Act No. 1/2008) are also relevant. The Labor Act regulates employment conditions and outlines the general duties of employers and employees. In other words, all businesses should do whatever it takes to ensure their workers are safe, healthy, and getting help from the government. The law upholds equal open-door standards, and it is currently illegal to victimize people (Valenti 2021). Agents have certain rights regarding all kinds of badgering at work, which is seen as breaking the Fair Employment Act.
The Employment Act does cover some terms that have to do with business groups, though. Some rules are doing the right thing, being fair, having good faith, and being honest. In the archive, the compromise way is written down, along with the end of business benefits due to the inappropriate behaviour (Fahmy and Shahid 2022). The law says that companies must look into claims of provocation and take reasonable steps that are not set in stone during the regular cycles of fairness after the investigation results show that a crime was committed (Au et al. 2023). The more clear rules are in the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act. This is just an extra to make things easier. The Maldives’ most crucial rule against sexual harassment at work is the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act. In addition, the Business Act and the Work Act pass many bosses’ responsibilities and employees’ rights after they get safety, value, and freedom from harassment. Maldives has passed several laws that aim to stop both lewd behaviour at work and abuse of office supplies.
Analysis
When MACL made their internal rules and procedures, they carefully thought about the standards and principles of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act. One prominent place where this link can be seen is in the idea or meaning of sexual harassment. Even though MACL’s policy directly forbids actions like physical contact, verbal abuse, and visual displays, which closely match the Act’s definition of offensive conduct, there is no guarantee that the law will be followed to the letter. The company is sure that its rules for proper behaviour at work will be followed because MACL’s policy aligns with the Act’s language.
Making the Macleans Act work has also been helped by MACL’s internal protest procedures. Employees can share their concerns orally or in writing, and the process explains who to talk to in the HR department for more help. These steps are in line with what the law requires. The law sets up different reporting methods and lets people file abuse claims. The policy ensures that people who file complaints won’t be mistreated, which aligns with the Act’s promise to help people who do the right thing and report it. By setting up these ways for people to complain, MACL has ensured that the relevant parts of the Act are followed in the organization.
MACL’s ways of reporting and defining things are in line with the Act, as well as the way it punishes people. You could be punished with disciplinary actions like suspension, termination or similar consequences if harassment is proven. These actions would depend on how bad the crime was. Those made it even more apparent that the Act can’t stand for an unethical standard of behaviour. Because of this, the MACL set up systems and fines to encourage responsibility in its activities.
MACL carefully writes several sections about definitions, complaints, and disciplinary actions to ensure the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act is adequately reflected in the organization’s rules. Following the letter and the heart of the law, MACL is committed to building them into how they do things internally. These actions, which ensure that the law’s standards and principles are followed, show that the main parts of this fundamental law are being implemented well.
Areas of Improvement
MACL’s policy explains what cannot be allowed but could include more examples of what new cyber-bullying technology makes possible. The Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act is meant to protect people from all kinds of abuse. Making it clear that cyber-bullying, image-based abuse, social media stalking and other lousy behaviour online are illegal would make MACL’s defences against new types of digital harassment stronger. Giving examples of bad behaviour not allowed online shows that one knows these actions are against the law.
To better follow the Employment Act’s natural justice and due process principles, MACL’s policy could set expected times for starting and finishing harassment investigations. Key steps should have reasonable due dates, like beginning the inquiry immediately after getting the report, talking to everyone involved within specified days, and finishing everything within some fixed weeks unless there are exceptional circumstances. The principle of the law says that processes should take a little time.
When high-level officials are accused, MACL’s strategy could require them to bring in professional investigators from outside the company. This would eliminate any possible conflicts of interest and make sure that fair processes are followed as mandated by the Employment Act. Having outside experts help with handling sensitive cases involving leadership would make it more objective and unbiased.
The policy could spell out clear steps that will be taken at all times to protect the privacy and respect of victims, such as using fake names in paperwork and ensuring that everyone involved signs an agreement to keep things secret. Outlining specific rights would keep victims from going through more trauma as they try to get justice, which is precisely what the law is supposed to do to make it safe for people to report crimes (Cortina and Areguin 2021). To sum up, MACL could look into global best practices in the abovementioned areas to strengthen their already firm policy against abuse. This would fully follow both the letter and the spirit of Maldivian laws that try to eliminate sexual misconduct in the workplace.
Conclusion
In conclusion, MACL has created a firm policy against sexual harassment that aligns with Maldivian law, especially the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act. For example, the policy lists what behaviours are not accepted, how to report them, what punishments are available, and how to protect oneself from retaliation. As time goes on, though, it will be stronger if MACL uses some models from other countries. This includes more examples of new forms of digital harassment, talks about how long it should take to look into complaints, calls for outside investigations into complaints against management, and coming up with straightforward ways to protect victims’ privacy and respect. MACL’s anti-harassment policy clarifies that the company wants to create a safe and honest workplace atmosphere. By making some of these changes, this policy could become a model for other Maldives companies on how to fight and eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace today. MACL has shown itself to be aggressive, but it also has a way to improve the welfare of its employees by constantly creating defences against sexual harassment.
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