The idea of standardising the residential letting agreement is on card for the Maldives. It is hoped that this vehicle will diffuse powers held by stakeholders, but will it really work?

Vast majority of the residents in one of the most crowded cities in the world live in rented apartments and with the landlord’s ruling (come on dont settle down with concepts like sellers market cos they simply sound nice). Besides the sky rocketing rents for poorly fitted accommodation which some accept as being best answered by demand vs supply (I never understood this as the case for the Male’), the deposits/advances sought by landlords are another big concern. Landlords whose greed have never been challenged decide the fate of any deposits handed in (I never understood it either that tenants should be reduced to this).

I know there are loads of people who think they know what is best and so there is no point in me sharing what the solution is. I also know that the card for standardising the letting agreement is on the table that will deal with the haunting we live in today.

Standard letting agreements used in the UK tackles many problems faced. I take the privilege of attaching the UK format (see downloads section) for those interested in enhancing and adopting one. The UK has, since of late, adopted a new policy that rental deposits be held by a third party which again is a very good approach.

If such a standard as practiced in the UK is adopted for use in the Maldives, I believe there are benefits for landlords and tenants, of course in return for relinquishing certain powers.

If you lost everything, how long would it take you to get something to eat, find a place to stay, and a get some work?

Claudio Oliver, a Brazillian who is a friend of a friend of mine living in Birmingham offers up a DEFINITION OF POVERTY. Have a look at this interesting video clip which is by no means ordinary. [ Link ]

Back in 2005 I conducted a research into “THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF TOURISM RESORT EMPLOYMENT ON FATHERHOOD (FATHERLESSNESS) IN THE MALDIVES” in partial fulfilment of my first degree in Tourism.

The aim of the research was to critically evaluate the negative impacts of tourism resort employment on fatherhood (fatherlessness) in Maldives and the objectives were:

1. To assess the implications of resort employment to fatherhood in the Maldives
2. To evaluate tourism’s gender characteristics, division of household labour, and the impacts of fatherlessness through employment
3. To analyse tourism employment system’s work-family parameters, policies and practices
4. To evaluate the resort day-off system as the single enabler to fatherhood
5. To provide recommendations to minimise the negative impacts of tourism resort employment on fatherhood in the Maldives.

The rationales were:

• The research contributes to the under-researched area of social impacts of tourism employment in developing countries and focuses to evaluate the negative impacts of tourism employment on fatherhood leading to fatherlessness in the Maldives
• Tourism employment in the Maldives has been a very masculine sector with over 95% of male workers in over 89 isolated resorts
• Captive labour in tourist resorts is a 25 year old story
• The research will amass a solid body of evidence on the negative impacts of tourism employment on fatherhood leading to fatherlessness on resort father’s children
• The scientific findings will help link to initiative and programmes to minimise the negative impacts of tourism on fatherhood

What may be of interest to readers though, are the findings from the 11 resorts that were surveyed, as follows:

• 11 resorts spread over 5 geographical locations namely Alifu Alifu, Alifu Dhaalu, Kaafu, Raa, and Dhaalu, had had fathers whose children were located in 17 different geographical locations, working and living in isolation from their families.
• Noteworthy is that fathers in three resorts namely Sun Island, Holiday Island, and Villu Reef had had 61.12% of the children and that over 31.76% of the children were the south most atoll, Seenu. 
• Resort labour market catchment area analysis on the geographical location of the resort and birth atoll of the fathers revealed that over 82.95% of employees were presumably in-migrants born outside in different locations having children in 81.71% outside of the fathers’ resort catchment area
• This improvement of 0.124 points (1.24%) although not significant, suggests a positive alteration or movement of their children into the fathers’ resort catchment area. 
• 82 fathers were categorised to their chosen day-off patterns as weakly, fortnightly, monthly, alternate monthly, quarterly, and randomly, recording 13.41% for 1 day, 3.66% averaging 2 days, 37.80% averaging 4 days, 15.85% averaging 7.69 days, 3.66% averaging 8.67 days, and 8.54% averaging 3.57 days respectively. Also recorded were 17.07% of father who did not take day-off at all. 
• Cross tabulation of the day-off data to map the popularity of different day-off frequencies for visiting their children appeared as below. Evident is that the large majority of those who took weakly and fortnightly day-off were for anything other than visiting their children. Weakly = 27.27%; fortnightly = 33.33%; monthly = 80.65%; alternate monthly = 100%; quarterly = 100%.
• The three most beneficial day-offs frequencies for visiting children appeared to have been  monthly, alternate monthly and quarterly options where 80.65%, 100.00%, 100.00% respectively visited their children. This could be because of the length available per visit is longer in monthly, alternate monthly and quarterly options compared with only 1 day for weakly day-offs. 
• But how much time in aggregate of day-off and leave does the resort employment system provide for its employees in average? The analysis of day-off and leaves taken by the 82 employees in 11 resorts revealed startling result of resort fathers total time-out per year as 34 days in Velidhoo, 62 days in White Sands, 69 days in Holiday Island, 69 days in Hilton, 80 days in Reethi Rah, 78 days in Meedhupparu, 55 days in Villu Reef, 60 days in Rannalhi, 42 days in Bathala, 99 days in Kuramathi, and 55 days in Sun Island. This creates the notion those employees in Velidhoo spent 331 days or 91% of their time in the resort it self. Similarly, employees in White Sands spent 83%, Holiday Island Resort spent 81%, Hilton spent 81%, Reethi Rah spent78%, Meedhupparu spent 79%, Villu Reef spent 85%, Rannalhi spent 84%, Bathala spent 89%, Kuramathi spent 73%, and Sun Island spent 85%. Fathers’ aggregate total time-out specifically for visiting children, tabulated to day-off frequency as weakly, fortnightly, monthly, alternate monthly, quarterly, randomly day-off and of those who did not take any day-off, with addition of annual leave allowance, suggested that they spent 78 days, 80 days, 75 days, 70 days, 51 days, 38 days, and 24 days respectively to day-off frequencies given above. These as a percentage of time based on a year of 365 days worked out as 21.28%, 21.92%, 20.52%, 19.28%, 13.97%, 10.52%, and 6.58%. 
• Apparent is that fathers who spent least amount of time were those who took random day-off and those who did not take any day off.
• Fathers’ whose children were in 4 locations consistent to resorts catchment, namely Alifu Alifu, Alifu Dhaalu, Raa, and Male’, with combination of day-off and leave, calculated on the basis of 365 days a year, spent 18.90%, 18.03%, 20.82%, and 20.71% respectively, their time with their children.

CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

• Resortwise analysis on day-off and leaves put together for all purposes provided startling result that resort employment system had in overall average confined its employees 302 day a year. It is therefore only 63 days in all that employees get to spend outside of the resort, may it be visiting families or whatever other purpose. 
• Captivating fathers in resort islands for 24/7, it is recommended that they be provided with family housing and other necessary facilities and infrastructures in the nearest neighbouring island to fathers resort of residence. 
• Eleven resorts located in 5 geographical areas had had fathers whose children identified in seventeen isolated geographical locations, many in which cases, fathers birth atoll were consistent to children’s resident atoll except for positive marginal difference of 0.124 points that children were moved closer to fathers resort of residence. 
• Fathers need to be educated that having their children in resort catchment area is beneficial and where possible and necessary, a relocating and sustaining allowance be provided 
• Of the 170 children attached to 82 of the tourism resort employed fathers that were surveyed, 31.76% of the children were from Seenu, furthest south atoll the Maldives where increased frequencies of day-off of 1 or 2 days may not be sufficient for visiting their children, let alone the affordability of such transportations back and forth. Hence, resort employment and its day-off system as an enabler to fatherhood in tourism resort fathers is not servicing its use for everyone. 
• Resort labour market catchment area analysis provides evidence that over 82.95% of fathers in resorts were born and had had children at great distances away from their resort of employment. Resorts could reduce negative impacts on fatherhood by, recruiting its labour force from around its neighbouring inhabited islands or from those living Male’, the capital ( the catchment area) where weakly visits are not an obstacle. 
• Alternatively, resorts could also establish an inter-resort employee transfer option for those that are already in employment so that good employees will also become happy and content for longer periods as well reduce negative impact of tourism employment on fatherhood. 
• Where family relocating and sustaining, recruitment from catchment area and inter-resort employee transfer options are not possible, resorts could provide airfare or transportation costs at viable frequencies so that employees could spend time with their children. 
• Both tourism and labour bodies in the Maldives could step-in to reduce the negative social impacts of tourism employment by harnessing work-family policies that are functional and practical. “Societies through government can assist families in achieving collectively what no family can achieve singly” (Labour Party, 1997).

FUTURE RESEARCH: While this research is the first step in knotting fatherlessness to the negative impacts of tourism employment, there are plentiful areas for future research within this context. Impact of tourism resort employment on marriage; physical, emotional and psychological well being of fathers in captivity and its effect on work performances; and tourism ‘pay’ as an enabler to economic prosperity of its employees and of their families are important and crucial areas for future research.

Grant et al., (2006) asks:

"which industry transports millions of people halfway around the globe and deposits them in third world countries with imperfect infrastructures, unfamiliar cultures, fragile economies, dubious political regimes, extreme weather conditions and promises them paradise - all supplied by independent foreign contractors employing untrained temporary staff on poverty line wages?" (Grant et al., 2006)

It is an interesting perspective and doesn’t require a stretch of imagination to answer the question but poverty-line wages are an understatement when employment in enclaves are a voluntary isolation from freinds and families for extended periods and impact negtively on social well being of the hosts and their families. Is there though a plausible solution?

Solutions are only plausible if problems can be identified. Scholars and stakeholders alike agree that there are many problems within the Maldives tourism sector. Though each and every individual has a story, none has all the stories. If we are to find suitable, acceptable and feasible solutions, a holistic understanding of macro and micro issues for all stakeholders must be properly identified and well researched. Although it may be a daunting task someone has got to do it and I am therefore keen to embark on the latter; that  is to identify the problems and to conduct necessary research and experiments on them.
 
Anyone can support this project by feeding stories or surfacing issues as they are. Big or small, if you have a story to tell please feel free to thread it in this blog post. All stories will be carefully read, considered and appreciated.