Seychelles, ILO take steps to strengthen social dialogue in world of work |23 August 2023

Social dialogue and labour administration specialist of the ILO decent work team Limpho Mandoro addressing the gathering (Photos: Laura Pillay)

Members of the national consultative committee on employment will be better equipped to understand and engage in effective tripartite social dialogue, through an educational workshop held by the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs, in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation.

The two-day workshop conducted by social dialogue and labour administration specialist of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) decent work team, Limpho Mandoro, aims to strengthen social dialogues, in addressing challenges that the country faces.

As highlighted by Mr Mandoro, although Seychelles has managed to transform itself into one of the countries with the highest gross domestic product (GDP) in Africa, the domestic economy remains highly dependent on tourism, making it vulnerable to global macroeconomic developments. As such, Seychelles’ development challenges are greater productivity, higher labour force participation, and improved performance of the economy as a means to increase shared prosperity.

With a view to address challenges in the world of work, Seychelles is implementing the Seychelles Decent Work Country Programme 2019 to 2023, in partnership with the ILO. Priorities identified by the programme include the creation of decent and productive employment, strengthening of social dialogue and tripartite institutions, as well as effective implementation of international labour standards.

To achieve the desired outcomes, it is of paramount importance that key stakeholders engage to improve existing social dialogue platforms, and to strengthen them to facilitate more effective negotiations, consultations, information sharing, collective bargaining dispute resolution and contribute towards socio-economic policy.

The preconditions for effective social dialogue include strong, independent and representative employers’ and workers’ organisations, an enabling legal and institutional framework, political will, trust and commitment, as well as respect for the fundamental rights of freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, and enjoyment of other civil liberties.

“The national government has ratified most of the ILO conventions which promote and support social dialogue, and most provisions of these conventions have been incorporated in the employment and labour legislations which are applicable in the country. As a result, you have the necessary enabling legal environment to use in strengthening social dialogue in the island,” Mr Mandoro said reassuringly.

Through the workshop, stakeholders will have the opportunity to explore the principles of social dialogue, its benefits and requisite conditions for effectiveness, and national social dialogue legislation and policy.

Additionally, they will also discuss impediments to effective social dialogue, and agree on remedial action, in addition to the means by which to support the national consultative committee on employment (NCCE) as an institution.

Chairman of the General Employers Trade Unions of Seychelles (Getus) Jules Baker noted that despite efforts to rebuild the nation in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Seychelles must have a “strong foundation” which allows for “negotiation, consultation and exchange of information between, or among representatives of government, employers and workers, on issues of common interest, relating to economic and social policy.”

“We must use social dialogue as a medium to promote consensus building towards ‘win-win’ goals among the main stakeholders in the world of work. We must look at ways, either at bipartite or tripartite level, to resolve important economic and social issues, encourage good governance, advance social and industrial peace and stability, and to boost economic progress,” Mr Baker stated.

Similarly, the secretary general of the Seychelles Federation of Workers’ Unions (SFWU) Antoine Robinson said the future of work in Seychelles rests on the effectiveness of the social dialogue contract between government, employers and workers.

Mr Robinson, however, stated that negotiation between employers and workers is yet to be “accepted and nurtured” by the tripartite, which often means that workers often find themselves at the receiving end of decisions that are not always in their best interest.

“We need to find a solution that provides a more stable and secure foundation for workplace industrial relation based on social justice, to ensure enhanced productivity for our country,” Mr Robinson pointed out.

Seychelles introduced the National Tripartite Employment and Labour Council in 1998, prior to the ratification of the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention (1976), in 2005.

The NCCE was established with the ratification of the convention in 2006 and has been used in a number of key strategic moments, such as the formulation of the National Engagement Policy in 2014.

The ILO supported Seychelles with a technical workshop on social dialogue and strengthening of social partners that happened in April 2017, where a Tripartite Action Plan on Promotion and Strengthening of Social Dialogue was formulated. This was followed by a mission in July 2018 and a workshop for then NCCE members and secretariat.

Ten new NCCE members were appointed in 2022.

Laura Pillay