The Employment Act which excludes a lot of staff in different sectors from their basic rights came into effect yesterday. The Employment Act ratified by President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom on May 26 will exclude around 24,000 resort staff and some other staff working in different areas from being entitled to basic rights such as maximum working hours and minimum wages. In addition to resort staff, under clause (a) of article 34 of the Employment Act, people employed in emergency situations, crew of seafaring vessels, aircrafts, people engaged in dispatching and receiving aircrafts or ocean going vessels, loaders and un-loaders of ocean going vessels or aircrafts, people engaged in providing support services to aircrafts and ocean going vessels, people employed in industrial sites on uninhabited islands and top level officials are excluded from the conditions in the Act. During a media briefing held at Fansavees, Dharubaaruge, Minister Abdul Rasheed Hussain said that he was concerned that resort staff and others were being excluded from the Employment Act. The Act consists of 90 Articles and one of the most basic rights given to employees by it is the fact that no one can work without signing an employment agreement. "The biggest problem was the lack of agreements,' Abdul Rasheed said. "That is why we couldn't investigate most of the reports filed with us.' Another important right according to the Employment Act is the maximum working hours. All workers except those excluded in the Act, shall not be asked to work more than 48 hours excluding over time, the Employment Act states. Article 34 of the Act also stipulates that no worker, expect those excluded in the Act, shall be asked to work on the designated