IOT honours long-serving staff |29 December 2017

A group of staff of the Indian Ocean Tuna (IOT) company have been honoured for their long years of service and loyalty to the firm.

Employees who have clocked in 10, 20, 25 and 30 years with IOT were rewarded on Sunday during a special ceremony held at the NSC Hall, Roche Caiman.

Present at the ceremony were members of the IOT board and other guests.

Speaking at the ceremony, the new IOT general manager (GM) Nichol Elizabeth, who is the first Seychellois to hold that position, stated that IOT has developed itself to become one of the biggest tuna plants with latest technologies.

He also thanked his predecessor GM Joram Madnack for an amazing work during his career at IOT.

“IOT has got powerful individuals -- both expatriates and Seychellois -- who are currently enjoying their work at this factory and contributing towards its success. Such ceremony makes you recall the date you all started in this industry and you should all feel honoured to have lasted so many years.  At first it was hard, but with the new development and remarkable innovation, the work flow has become less tiring. IOT needs to value all its staff so we can grow and become more successful. The ceremony is to show respect and appreciation for the number of years dedicated by the employees to IOT and to the fishing industry,” he said.

IOT was established on November 14, 1995 after the acquisition of Conserveries de l’Ocean Indien (COI) which was formed 10 years earlier, in October 1985, and today IOT has got a workforce of 2,200 staff.

Out of the total of 93 staff members who received an award, 46 got 10-year awards, 32 got 20-year awards, 6 got 25-year awards and 8 got 30-year awards.

François Jeremie who has clocked in 30 years of service, started working at IOT on September 25, 1987 as a general labourer and promoted to forklift driver.

“At the beginning when I started working at IOT, it was really hard but with new ideas and technologies and the hard work of the management team, I managed to have a long lasting stable job. Working at IOT can be really hard, but with determination and strength I was able to overcome all obstacles along the way,” he said.

On her side, Denise Mathiot who also clocked in 30 years serving IOT, started her amazing career on October 27, 1987 also has a general labourer and promoted to fish cleaner.

“Lots of changes have taken place at IOT; when I started it was a small company but today IOT has got around 2,200 employees. With the help of the Almighty I managed to strive in my career at IOT. You need to be motivated to be able to work at IOT,” she said.

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