Speaking up
PioneerUnion Maldives operates under the PioneerUnion Group Whistleblowing Policy. This page sets out how to report something here.
1. If you see something seriously wrong, tell us
You do not have to be certain. You do not have to have proof. You do not have to work for us — subcontractors' workers, suppliers, clients, island residents and members of the public can all use this.
2. What to report
- Anyone in danger, or a safety rule being ignored on one of our sites
- Money or a favour demanded or paid to get a permit, an inspection, a clearance or a contract
- Wages unpaid, short-paid, or paid late
- Anyone's passport or identity documents being held by an employer, a subcontractor or an agent
- Anyone being made to work against their will, or anyone under age working on a site
- Harassment, bullying, or being treated badly because of nationality, religion or sex
- Damage to the environment, or work being done outside a permit
- False records, false invoices, or false statements to a client or a ministry
- Personal or medical information being misused
- Someone being punished for having already spoken up
If you are not sure whether it belongs here, report it anyway. Working that out is our job.
3. What this is not for
Day-to-day employment matters — a pay query, a shift dispute, leave, a disagreement with a supervisor — go through the normal HR process, which is faster. If you use this route by mistake, we will pass it to the right place, not ignore it.
4. How to report
By email, confidentially: ding@pioneerunion.com — this reaches a named member of our leadership directly, not a shared inbox.
In person or by phone, without email: If you cannot use email, or you do not read English, ask any manager or colleague you trust to put you in direct contact with us, and we will arrange a private conversation in your own language.
If your concern is about the people named above: If your concern is about the person who receives these reports, say so in your report and ask for it to be escalated independently — it will be reviewed by someone with no involvement in the matter.
Tell us what happened, where, when, and who was involved. If you have photographs or documents, keep them safe — do not take originals or anything you are not entitled to hold.
5. Reporting anonymously
You can report without giving your name and we will take it seriously.
We will be straight with you: anonymity limits what we can do. We cannot ask you follow-up questions, and we cannot tell you the outcome. If you can give us any way to reach you — even a new email address with no name on it — the report is far more likely to lead somewhere.
6. What we can and cannot promise about confidentiality
We can promise: your identity goes to the smallest number of people needed to look into it. We do not tell the person concerned who reported them. We ask you before sharing your name more widely.
We cannot promise: absolute secrecy in every case. If a matter goes to the police or a regulator, or into a court proceeding, disclosure may be required. And on a small site, the nature of a concern can sometimes make its source guessable. That is a real risk and we would rather tell you now than let you find out later. If confidentiality is your main worry, say so first and we will discuss how to handle it before doing anything.
7. You will not be punished for reporting
Nobody who raises a concern in good faith will be dismissed, sent home, moved to worse work, have their hours cut, have their contract not renewed, or be treated badly for it — whether or not the concern turns out to be right.
This includes your work permit and your visa status. Reporting a safety problem, unpaid wages, or a retained passport does not affect your permission to work in the Maldives. Anyone who tells you otherwise — a supervisor, a subcontractor, an agent — is themselves committing a serious breach, and that is something you should report.
Retaliation is treated as seriously as the original concern.
8. What happens next
1. We acknowledge within 5 working days, if we have a way to contact you. 2. We decide how to handle it — internal review, formal investigation, or referral to an authority. 3. Someone independent of the matter looks into it. Never the person concerned, and never someone who reports to them. 4. We act on what we find, and we tell you the matter has concluded and, so far as we properly can, what came of it. 5. Most matters conclude within 90 days. If it takes longer, we tell you it is taking longer rather than leaving you without news.
9. Going outside the company
Nothing here prevents you from reporting to the police, a ministry, a regulator, or another authority, and you do not need our permission. We would usually rather hear it first so we can fix it — but that is a preference, not a condition.
10. Records
Reports are recorded and kept securely with restricted access, for as long as we need to deal with the matter and to meet our legal obligations, after which they are securely deleted. A summary of how many reports were received and how they were resolved goes to management and to the group board, without identifying anyone who reported.
