160. HRCM notes that members of Tourism Employees Association of the Maldives (TEAM),who participate in strikes, have faced reprisals such as being sacked, blacklisted in the sector and ending up unemployed. TEAM also mentioned that even at present there are such victims who are still looking for employment in the tourism industry. 161. Right to strike is another important area of concern with regard to collective bargaining. Article 31 of the Constitution guarantees that every person employed in the country and all other workers have the freedom to stop work and strike in order to protest, while Article 32 guarantees freedom of peaceful assembly without prior notice of the State. Article 16 (a) of the Constitution guarantees rights to all persons, in a manner that is not contrary to any tenet of Islam, the rights and freedoms contained within this Chapter, subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by a law enacted by the Parliament in a manner that is not contrary to this Constitution. Any such law enacted by the Parliament can limit the rights and freedoms to any extent only if demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. Conversely, a new “Regulation on Dispute Resolution between Employer and Employee” enforced in April 2011 comprises of issues of grave concern, as the regulation infringes workers’ right to strike. The following include limitations of this regulation: a) The regulation is administered according to the Employment Act which remains silent regarding the right to strike. b) The grievance procedure to be followed prior to conducting a legal strike remains as an impediment. c) The regulation outlines strike as work stoppage, yet prohibits strikers from interrupting services they should provide. 162. Low income, lack of transparency in the distribution of service charge and issues relating to overtime work are amongst the major reasons of strike in the tourism industry. Following are some of the recent prominent incidents of strikes that were conducted. a) In March 2011, employees of Conrad Maldives, Rangali Island Resort (Hilton Worldwide) opted to strike at the resort site over matters relating to discrimination of income between local and expatriate (European) employees. Representatives of LRA, Ministry of Tourism, along with the representatives of Crown Company, which owns the resort, was present to discuss the striker’s grievances. The strikers were able to find a resolution and return to work on the following day. As a result of the strike, the employees were informed that an Chapter: Article 22 – Freedom of Association d) The professions excluded from right to strike include employees working in the field of telecommunication, health, water and electricity and air traffic control. 62