President Ramkalawan’s Labour Day 2021 message |03 May 2021

President Ramkalawan

‘You deserve our acclaim, workers of Seychelles’

“On the occasion of this very important day in our calendar, acknowledging devotion, seriousness and hard work I come before you my fellow brothers and sisters with immense pride and great humility to salute all of you for braving the most difficult journey of your lives, a journey that was forced upon all of us one faithful year ago.   As productive members of society, you have endured many challenges in this short time but you have kept the faith despite being faced with the greatest adversity and lived through one of the worse times that humanity has ever seen.  You have come out strong and more determined to take on any of life’s challenges that are thrown at you. You deserve our acclaim, workers of Seychelles. You should all be proud of yourselves. 
“We continue to recognise and give our full support to our fellow brothers and sisters in the essential services. More than any one of us you have been at the forefront of all the dangers and uncertainties, risking your lives to make sure that our people and country remain safe and secure.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  We pray that you will continue to have the courage and will power to carry on in your noble task for the sake of our beautiful Seychelles. 
“I am confident that before long we will get back on the path we were destined for.  Thanks to our generous donors we are on track with our vaccination campaign.  This has given us the confidence to open up our borders to visitors and already we have seen some a positive outlook for a prospective future ahead for workers and businesses. Investments are still happening around us showing that there is still confidence in the vast potential of our country despite the difficulties we, as well as the global world, face. During these challenging times more is being asked of all workers and they are rising to meet the new demands.
“The pandemic is still with us and is still causing some serious devastation for some countries around the world.  Let us take this time to remember and pray for our fellow workers and their families going through real sufferings, some with very little hope on the horizon.  We thank and ask our merciful God to continue to bless our motherland and bring some much-needed relief to countries in despair.
“Workers of Seychelles, we remain optimistic for the future. Let us all stand strong in our determination and keep being resilient in the face of hardship. Families at this time have to come together in harmony and be the support system for one another.  We have to acknowledge that the pandemic has brought some positives. It has forced us to get innovative and many have managed to come up with new business ideas.  Let us continue along this road.  The government will continue to create the landscape to boost development so you can continue to thrive.  I take this opportunity to call on employers to give our workers a fair chance and allow them the possibility to participate in the continued development of our economy. 
“In conclusion, I wish everyone a Happy Labour Day.  May God bless you all.”

Wavel Ramkalawan

President of the Republic of Seychelles