Fathimath Zimna, An Advocate for Decent Work

My role as a leader is to empower and educate workers to ensure safe working conditions, promote rights at work, and engage with relevant national and international stakeholder institutions to promote social dialogue. The trade union movement in the Maldives is very young and vibrant, and it was a transformative journey for a person to play an integral role as a leader. Our main work was around campaigning and lobbying to relevant government agencies and institutions to enact an Industrial Relations (IR) Act and an Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH), which are in line with the international labour standards. My few years as a leader of the trade union movement in the Maldives have been a transformative journey, both professionally and personally. The first minimum wage in the Maldives is a significant milestone for the labour movement, and I am glad that I was able to play a crucial role in the fixing of the minimum wage as a board member on the Minimum Wage Advisory Board.

I was privileged to be brought up by a father who believed that the girl child should be provided with equal access to education and build an identity of her own. Hence, growing up, I was given all opportunities and choices of study and career. Furthermore, because I was born during a period when the Maldives government regarded education as a basic human right, there was no difference in my opportunities for growth and education as a girl. The main challenge is to navigate personal life, professional work, and the volunteer role as a trade union leader. The magnitude of the burden is reduced because I am blessed to have a very supportive partner and a caretaker for my children. Male peers and colleagues with whom I work in the trade union movement have been a huge support for my leadership development.