Championing the rights and responsibilities of workers |30 November 2019

Mr Robinson addressing the meeting (Photo: Thomas Meriton)

The Seychelles Federation of Workers Union (SFWU) organised a symposium yesterday, gathering the representatives of various institutions from the public and private sector to learn more about their rights and responsibilities.

This workshop forms part of a series of educational and sensitisation activities that the SFWU, together with its affiliated unions, organises for its committee representatives to better equip themselves with the necessary knowledge and tools to better understand the importance of the role of a trade union in workplaces.

Its main objectives are to create awareness on the importance of workers’ rights and protection as a Constitutional right and to understand the importance of the role of trade unions in defending workers rights and protection.

Antoine Robinson, the secretary general of the SFWU noted that without workers there is no trade union. For a trade union to exist the workers have to voluntarily be willing to join and become member of trade unions or workers’ organisations. Currently, the SFWU is presently formed by the membership of the Seychelles Transport and General Workers Union (STGWU) and the Teachers Medical and Professional Workers Union (TMPU). Both the STGWU and the SFWU unionise workers from the private, parastatal and public sector services.

“The SFWU came into existence in 1996 after the reintroduction of multi party democracy in Seychelles. The National Constitution of the Third Republic provides for the existence of independent unions to continue the translation of interests of workers into tangible perspectives.

“SFWU was created under the aegis of the Industrial Relations Act. 1993. We feel that the time is now as the work places are full of challenges in regards to employment and labour. Our labour laws are very progressive but still our workers feel that they are unfairly treated at times in regards to their rights and working conditions.

“There exist a lot of instances where employers violate labour legislations impacting on the working conditions of their workers, which create unnecessary frustration among the workforce impacting negatively on the working environment and productivity,” expressed Mr Robinson.

The secretary general stressed a lot on how to resolve violation and abuses through proper dialogue between the parties.

During the symposium, Ayda Aumeerudy from the Ministry of Employment talked about ‘Dispute Resolution Mechanism under Employment Act, 1998 & Public Service Order’ and Bernard Adonis from the Registrar of Trade Unions talked about the ‘Industrial Dispute Procedures under Industrial Relations Act. 1993.’

The symposium was quite animated by the various questions coming from the participants.

Vidya Gappy