The Parliament’s State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Committee has been urged to investigate WAMCO over the issue of pension contributions deducted from employees’ salaries that have not been deposited into their pension accounts. 

In a letter to Parliament Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla, North Galolhu MP Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudu) stated that although WAMCO has been deducting monthly pension contributions from employees’ wages, the company has not deposited these funds since October 16, 2024. This amounts to a lapse of 1.5 years.

Kudu highlighted that WAMCO had previously claimed in January that it was unable to pay its invoices due to financial difficulties. However, he emphasized that this is not a lawful excuse for neglecting employees’ rights and statutory entitlements.

Under Maldivian law, pension contributions are a fundamental right for every citizen, and employers are legally required to deposit the deducted amounts into the pension scheme. Kudu pointed out that the failure to make regular deposits has deprived employees of benefits such as investment returns and the ability to use their pension funds as collateral for housing loans.

He called on the SOE Committee to investigate WAMCO’s non-payment of pension contributions, hold the company and relevant Pension Office officials accountable, and demand that WAMCO submit a plan to settle the overdue amounts promptly.

It is also noteworthy that WAMCO employees have faced repeated delays in salary payments. An employee told Sun that staff had gone three months without receiving salaries, although some departments had been paid.

According to the Pension Office, as of January, three state-owned companies, including WAMCO, had failed to deposit employees’ pension contributions for more than three months.