WAMCO Cites Outstanding Income for Delay in Pension Deposits

The Waste Management Corporation (WAMCO) has acknowledged that pension contributions deducted from employees’ salaries have not been deposited into their pension accounts for more than a year, citing outstanding income owed to the company.

The issue came to light following a request submitted under the Right to Information Act (RTI) by activist Afrah Ismail, seeking details of pension payments made on behalf of WAMCO employees. Information released in response to the request shows that the last pension payment was made on 16 October, after which no further deposits have been recorded for the past 14 months. 

advertisement

In a statement issued late on Tuesday, WAMCO said employee salaries and allowances are paid from a combination of the company’s own revenue and government subsidies. It added that delays in payments from various parties had affected its cash flow.

The statement specifically referred to MVR 98 million owed to WAMCO for services provided to the Malé City Council, noting that the company has been working with the council for the past two years to recover the outstanding amount.

While the statement did not specify the total value of unpaid pension contributions, a WAMCO official said in a separate interview that around MVR 20 million in pension payments remain outstanding.

WAMCO said it has sought assistance from the Ministry of Finance to recover the unpaid amounts, stressing that sufficient revenue is necessary to meet obligations such as salaries and allowances. The company also said it is in discussions with the Pension Office regarding the delayed pension payments.

Employees, however, said that pension contributions continue to be deducted from their salaries each month despite not being deposited into their pension accounts. Under the Pension Act, seven per cent of an employee’s salary is deducted monthly, with the employer required to contribute an additional seven per cent.