Bad Catches: MICO Fires 100 Expatriate Tuna Workers ff

Following dwindling profits that were less than the projected results the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company MIFCO has decided not to renew contracts of 100 expatriate workers in the Fisheries Complex in Lhaviyani atoll Felivaru.

According to MIFCO Managing Director, Adil Saleem, the workers to be dismissed were mostly women and from South Asian countries. Currently there are 474 expatriates working in the factory.

“We won’t be dismissing them all together at once,” said Adil. “But it will happen very soon.”

MIFCO’s profits during the first half of last year was around Rf 95 million, but due to poor fishing near the end of the year the profits plummeted. The profits made during the last six months of last year were around Rf 30-40 million less than the projected estimates, Adil revealed.

“We had estimated our profits to be around Rf 100 million,” said Adil. “We were unable to reach the target because of the poor fishing during the second half of the year. So we had no choice but to cut down on staff.” He said that only staff from Felivaru was being dismissed because that was the only place that they could afford to downsize.

“We are doing other things to cut down the running costs of MIFCO,” said Adil. “As such, the freezers in Kooddoo Fisheries Complex have also been turned off and buying fish at the complex has also been halted.”