Tribunal upholds dismissal of airport staff over Facebook post
Ismail Sivaan, a driver at the Maldives Airports Company Ltd, was sacked in May for sharing a prayer on Facebook for the end of President Abdulla Yameen’s administration.
29 Oct 2017, 9:00 AM
The Employment Tribunal has ruled that the state-owned airport company’s dismissal of an employee for sharing an anti-government Facebook post was fair and legal.
Ismail Sivaan, a driver at the Maldives Airports Company Ltd, which manages the main international airport, was sacked in May following an anonymous complaint about third-party content on his personal Facebook account.
“It was a political statement, or rather a sarcastic statement towards the current president. It was in the format of a prayer wishing for the removal of the current president [Abdulla Yameen],” Sivaan told the Maldives Independent.
Sivaan, who worked at MACL for more than 10 years, shared the post outside of work hours at his home. But he was accused of violating disciplinary policy by “dishonouring the company’s name and image or acting in a manner that may affect the unity of employees”.
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