First ever induction programme for migrant workers launched |31 March 2023

•           Aimed at facilitation their smooth entry into Seychelles

By Patsy Canaya

For the first time, Seychelles has launched an induction programme targeting migrant workers entering the country for employment.

The programme dubbed ‘Work In Seychelles’ or WINS is mandatory and the first of its kind to be initiated.

It was launched by the Minister for Employment and Social Affairs, Patricia Francourt, in a ceremony yesterday afternoon at the Olympic House, Roche Caiman in the presence of other ministers, principal secretaries, dignitaries, employers and a group of Indian migrant workers as well as employee representatives.

When addressing the guests, Minister Francourt said the initiative, conceived in collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other stakeholders, marks an exciting time and a milestone in Seychelles’ history and urged employers to support it.

She said Seychelles has been welcoming migrants for decades and “today we accord them the respect they deserve and acknowledge their immense contribution to our economy”.

The country presently boasts around 14,000 migrant workers with the majority in construction, tourism, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade. 

The minister said they make significant contributions to the country’s economy, leading to growth of various industries and the emergence and growth of new economic activities.

Minister Francourt added that many people who have travelled to another country for work, know that it was not an easy task, especially when settling into a completely different background and culture, way of life, laws and regulations, and learning about their rights and obligations.

“The induction programme is serving to do just that, its purpose is to help migrant workers have a smooth integration into our country. It is to ease a bit the challenges that may possibly arise in the completely normal process of joining a new organisation with its own culture and behavioural principles, let alone working in a new country,” said the minister.

Under the induction programme, migrant workers will have to follow several sessions where relevant country-related and work-related information will be relayed to them. These include the conditions set out in their work permit, their rights and obligations under existing employment laws, tradition and respect for other’s culture, law and order, preservation of the environment among others.

Since it is mandatory, Minister Francourt said employers would be obligated to release their staff for the sessions, which will also be followed by regular visits to the employees’ work sites through the labour inspections.

Initially the induction programme will target areas where migrant workers are most vulnerable, namely construction, farming, wholesale and retail as well as domestic work.

She added that the situation where migrant workers are not paid their salaries or face ill-treatment should be a thing of the past.

“Our expectations are that the migrant workers become better equipped and have the necessary knowledge, confidence and ability to make decisions for themselves. Ultimately we expect that migrant workers will come forward more willingly and as soon as they encounter difficulties while they are living and working in our country, same as is done normally by their local counterparts,” said the minister.

The Indian high commissioner to Seychelles, Karthik Pande, whose country provides the highest number of migrant workers to Seychelles, also addressed the guests, thanking the government for taking “this very important initiative”.

Speaking to Seychelles NATION at the end of the ceremony, the secretary general of the Seychelles Federation of Workers Unions, Antoine Robinson, welcomed the move saying it was long overdue to help respect the migrant workers.

“As a union, we will closely monitor this programme, because we do not want the migrant workers to be penalised or victimised when they report incidents against them,” stated Mr Robinson.

This was echoed by the president of the Seychelles Labour Union, Ralph Volcère, who described it as a fantastic initiative. “It is about time something like this is done. It is an effort to address those very bad incidents that have been reported against migrant workers and we have to support it. Hopefully it will address the issues especially those in construction and retail where there are more complaints,” said Mr Volcère.

For her part, Louisette Belle, the United Workers Seychelles’ representative, said it was a good idea as “it will give the migrant workers the important information they will need when entering the country and hopefully this would help alleviate the current problems being reported”.

During yesterday’s ceremony the migrant workers present were each presented with an induction pack containing reading materials to use as reference materials and a directory with emergency and other important telephone numbers. They were also able to follow the first session of the WINS induction programme facilitated by the director general for labour migration, Tara Diallo.

The WINS induction programme logo was also revealed by Minister Francourt.

The Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs plans to introduce an App in the future where reference information would be easily accessible to migrant workers through a smart phone.

Yesterday’s launch, which was live online, was also being followed by DR Coffi Agossou, the director of the International Labour Organisation country officer for Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius and Seychelles, officials from the Southern African Migration Management project and those from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). IOM has already pledged to support the programme by helping with the translation.

Photos by Louis Toussaint