SLU calls for clear policy on foreign labour |17 June 2021
Messrs Anacoura and Volcère (3rd and 2nd from right respectively) accompanied by other members of SLU during the press conference yesterday (Photo: Patrick Joubert)
The Seychelles Labour Union (SLU) has said that it is not satisfied with the way the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs is functioning, which is a menace to national security and national interests.
It was the SLU’s secretary general, Edward Anacoura, who made the comment during the union’s press conference held yesterday morning at its headquarters, MS Complex, Victoria.
He said that the union is very concerned with the way certain foreign employers are treating Seychellois employees and also the way certain Seychellois employers are treating foreign employees, among other issues not being addressed by the ministry.
He further said that the gainful occupation permit (GOP) is still a controversial issue as the country lacks a clear policy with regard to foreign workers.
He stated that employers, mostly in big hotels, are through loopholes or collusion, still enjoying the privilege of importing foreign labour on false pretexts and to get away with it while local workers are striving hard to find a job.
Mr Anacoura added that during the union’s three months of existence, it has discovered abuses and victimisation going on in workplaces among other violation of human rights, violation of the workers’ constitution and some weaknesses and flaws in the structure and laws of the employment department, among other irregularities.
He said that following information gathered and through familiarisation visits held, the union has discovered that a lot of employers and employees do not know their rights.
He further said that this has given rise to disciplinary problems and he feels that the ministry is not doing enough to curb such disciplinary attitudes.
He noted though that SLU is engaging with the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs, Ministry of Internal Affairs, the employers and employees, to tackle employment and working conditions in the country, among other alarming issues. He said that SLU will continue with its familiarisation visits to work places to educate the workers on their rights and opportunities while it also does some advocating on its role and principles.
For his part, the president of the union, Ralph Volcère, said that since the political change in the country, the department of Employment is still functioning in the same way it had been doing in the past.
He further said that the ministry is yet to come up with a clear employment policy for expatriate workers, in the absence of which meanwhile the Seychellois workers are being made to play second fiddle to foreign workers.
He stated that the employment statistics given by the ministry is portraying an artificial image and not the real picture of the current employment situation in the country.
He explained that the statistics give the impression that work is available for all Seychellois looking for work when in reality it is not the case as there are fewer jobs for the Seychellois, among which some are being reserved for foreigners.
He said that people are being fed with false information in relation to the statistics given and this is preventing them from making informed decisions.
Mr Volcère explained that the recent arrival of the 83 Mauritian workers in the country is a clear example of Seychellois workers being made to pay the price at the benefit of foreign workers.
He added that he has information that the Seychellois workers did apply for jobs with the tourism establishment concerned but the Mauritians were preferred over them.
He said the Mauritian workers were in some way able to secure their jobs even if they did not submit their medical test certificates to immigration on arrival, which is against the law.
He said the establishment’s explanation that it didn’t manage to get locals for the different jobs was just an excuse to get the Mauritian workers in the country among other expatriates who also get to enter the country on a tourist visa but in reality they are here to work.
He added that getting expatriates in the country to work is a carefully planned manoeuvre that the ministry fails to detect.
He clarified that the union is not against foreign labour but wants to see that the rules and regulations are respected.
He added that the union does get visits from foreign workers and it is also fighting for the rights of many who are being abused in the country.
Mr Volcère noted that Seychellois are good and reliable workers but they have to be paid accordingly.
He said that when the economy gets back on track, the government should with immediate effect revise the salary structure and to reinstate the 13th month pay scheme, which would lead the way for the private sector to comply.
SLU has so far opened an office at the Pension Fund Complex on Praslin for the inner islands and it has appointed Raymond Louise as interim vice-president to replace Franky Simeon who has resigned from the post.
Patrick Joubert