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Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Seychelles (RATIFICATION: 1999)

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The Committee notes the observations of the Association of Seychelles Employers (ASE) – Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) communicated with the Government’s report.

Articles 2, 4 and 6 of the Convention. Pending legislative matters. The Committee recalls that for many years it has been requesting the Government to take measures to amend several provisions of the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) in order to: (i) provide for an effective protection against acts of interference by employers or their organizations in workers’ organizations; and (ii) ensure that recourse to compulsory arbitration in cases where the parties do not reach an agreement through collective bargaining is permissible only in relation to public servants engaged in the administration of the State, essential services in the strict sense of the term and acute national crises. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that: (i) an ILO consultant was mandated to undertake the review of the IRA; (ii) as a result, a draft report with recommendations was submitted to the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs (MESA) and to the ILO in 2021; (iii) the report is currently reviewed by the MESA; and (iv) once the review of the report is completed, the MESA will meet with stakeholders for validation. The Committee hopes that the legislation will soon be amended in order to bring it into full conformity with the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in this respect.

Promotion of collective bargaining in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the measures taken to promote collective bargaining across the different sectors of the economy; and (ii) the number of collective agreements concluded and in force, the sectors concerned, and the number of workers covered by these agreements.

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Articles 2, 4 and 6 of the Convention. Pending legislative matters. The Committee recalls that for several years it has been requesting the Government to take measures to amend several provisions of the Industrial Relations Act (IRA). In its previous comments, the Committee had welcomed the Government’s indication that the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources Development had established a tripartite Committee to review the IRA. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that consultations were held in 2015 with the social partners and other key stakeholders on the proposed amendments to the IRA. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that a new consultancy contract was signed and that its work would start in July 2018 to continue the review of the IRA. The Committee trusts that the review of the IRA will soon be completed in consultation with the social partners and with the technical assistance of the Office, taking into account the Committee’s previous comments in which it had requested the Government to take the necessary measures in order to:

- adopt legislative provisions providing for protection against acts of interference by employers or their organizations in workers’ organizations, in particular, acts which are designed to promote the establishment of workers’ organizations under the domination or control by employers or employers’ organizations, coupled with effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions; and
- amend its legislation so as to ensure that recourse to compulsory arbitration in cases where the parties do not reach an agreement through collective bargaining is permissible only in relation to public servants engaged in the administration of the State (Article 6 of the Convention), essential services in the strict sense of the term and acute national crises.

Additional developments. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that in June 2016 new provisions were merged into an Employment Bill on prevention of discrimination and harassment 2016 (EB 2016). In this regard, the Committee observes that the Government mentions several provisions that address the protection against anti-union discrimination. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the elaboration and adoption of the EB 2016.

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The Committee takes note of the observations submitted by the Association of Seychelles Employers and the Seychelles Federation of Workers’ Unions (SFWU), received on 31 August 2015, which refer to matters already examined by the Committee.

Articles 2, 3, 4 and 6 of the Convention. Pending legislative matters. The Committee recalls that for several years it has been commenting upon and requesting the Government to take measures to amend several provisions of the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) concerning insufficient protection against acts of interference and restrictions on the right to bargain collectively. The Committee welcomes the Government’s indications that: (i) in 2012, the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources Development (MLHRD) established a committee to review the IRA, composed of representatives from the MLHRD, the employers’ and workers’ organizations and other stakeholders from the ministries, departments and a non-governmental organization; (ii) the IRA Committee actively met on four occasions between April and July 2013 during which it proceeded to an analysis of the IRA by order of the sections; and (iii) in relation to section 3 concerning the application of the IRA, the IRA Committee took into account the Committee’s comments and proposed to widen the scope of the IRA so as to encompass prison staff. The Committee further notes that in its report the Government informs that: (i) since the IRA Committee only had a chance to examine sections 1–9, the Committee’s remaining comments regarding the need to take the necessary measures to ensure protection against acts of interference by employers or their organizations into workers’ organizations and the need to restrict the recourse to compulsory arbitration, which concern sections 36–38 and sections 46–53 of the IRA, have not yet been addressed; (ii) the MLHRD contracted a consultancy to review the IRA to ensure its compatibility with the national labour legislation and international labour standards, the main work of which will be undertaken from September 2015 to February 2016, with the validation workshop of the IRA draft scheduled to take place in February 2016; (iii) the terms of reference of the IRA’s consultancy were forwarded to the ILO Country Office in Antananarivo; and (iv) the Committee’s comments will be considered by both the IRA Committee and the IRA consultancy in their review of the legal instrument. The Committee observes that the Government expressed the need for ILO technical assistance and stated that it would forward the IRA draft for the ILO’s comments prior to the validation workshop.

The Committee trusts that the review of the IRA will continue without delay, in consultation with the social partners and with the technical assistance of the ILO, taking into account the Committee’s previous comments in which it had requested the Government to take the necessary measures in order to:

-adopt legislative provisions providing for protection against acts of interference by employers or their organizations in workers’ organizations, in particular, acts which are designed to promote the establishment of workers’ organizations under the domination or control by employers or employers’ organizations, coupled with effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions;
-amend its legislation so as to ensure that recourse to compulsory arbitration in cases where the parties do not reach an agreement through collective bargaining is permissible only in relation to public servants engaged in the administration of the State (Article 6 of the Convention), essential services in the strict sense of the term and acute national crises; and
-ensure that prison staff, excluded from the scope of the IRA, are granted the right to bargain collectively.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any developments in this respect.

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Articles 2, 3, 4 and 6 of the Convention. The Committee recalls that for several years it has been commenting upon several provisions of the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) concerning insufficient protection against acts of interference and restrictions on the right to bargain collectively. The Committee notes that in its report, the Government informs that the review of the IRA remains important and reiterates its desire to receive technical assistance from the Office in this respect. The Government informs in this regard that an ILO mission is planned to take place in 2013 together with national training on various dispute resolution systems for relevant stakeholders. The Government reiterates that once a tripartite committee responsible to make proposals towards the review of the IRA is set up, the Committee’s observations will be brought to its attention for further action. It explains that the review of the IRA in tandem with the review of the Employment Act has been delayed due to the difficulty faced by the Ministry of Labour and Human Resource Development in terms of limited human resources capacity. The Committee trusts that the legislative review will begin without further delay, in consultations with the social partners and the ILO technical assistance, taking into account the Committee’s previous comments in which it had requested the Government to take the necessary measures in order to:

– adopt legislative provisions providing for protection against acts of interference by employers or their organizations into workers’ organizations, in particular, acts which are designed to promote the establishment of workers’ organizations under the domination or control by employers or employers’ organizations, coupled with effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions;
– amend its legislation so as to ensure that recourse to compulsory arbitration in cases where the parties do not reach an agreement through collective bargaining is permissible only in the context of essential services, in the strict sense of the term, and for civil servants engaged in the administration of the State; and
– ensure that prison staff, excluded from the scope of the IRA, are granted the right to bargain collectively.

The Committee requests the Government to indicate any progress made in this respect.

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Articles 2, 3 and 4 of the Convention. The Committee recalls that for several years it has been commenting upon several provisions of the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) concerning insufficient protection against acts of interference and restrictions on the right to bargain collectively. The Committee notes that, according to the information provided in the Government’s report, while a review of the IRA is highly envisaged, it will only be undertaken after the revision of the Employment Act, currently under review. The Government indicates that once the committee responsible to review the IRA is set up, the Committee’s observations will be brought to its attention for further action. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to:

– adopt legislative provisions providing for protection against acts of interference by employers or their organizations into workers’ organizations, in particular, acts which are designed to promote the establishment of workers’ organizations under the domination or control by employers or employers’ organizations, coupled with effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions; and

– to amend its legislation so as to ensure that recourse to compulsory arbitration in cases where the parties do not reach an agreement through collective bargaining is permissible only in the context of essential services, in the strict sense of the term, and for civil servants engaged in the administration of the State.

The Committee expresses the hope that the Industrial Relations Act will soon be amended, taking into account previous comments by the Committee and requests the Government to indicate any progress in this respect.

Article 6. The Committee recalls that in its previous comments it had requested the Government to take the necessary measures so as to ensure that prison staff, excluded from the scope of the IRA are granted the right to bargain collectively. The Committee notes that no information has been provided by the Government in this respect. It therefore reiterates its previous request and once again asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged in this respect.

In its previous observation, the Committee had noted the Government’s wish to avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office with regard to the amendment of the IRA. The Committee trusts that the necessary technical assistance of the Office, requested by the Government, will be provided in the near future.

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1. Articles 2, 3 and 4 of the Convention. The Committee recalls that in its previous direct request it had commented upon the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) and in this respect had requested the Government to:

In its report, the Government indicates that it had taken note of the issues raised by the Committee and that it will report on any changes in the legislation in this respect. The Committee once again requests the Government to amend the IRA so as to bring it into full conformity with the Convention and to indicate the measures taken or envisaged in this respect.

2. Approval of collective agreements. The Committee had previously noted that according to section 42(2) of the IRA, a collective agreement comes into force upon approval by the Minister. While the Committee had noted that the Minister could refuse to approve a collective agreement only if it did not comply with the IRA, and that such a refusal was subject to judicial review by the Supreme Court (section 42(4) and (6)), it had requested the Government to indicate whether there had been instances of refusal by the Minister to approve a collective labour agreement and to specify the grounds on which such decisions were taken. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that there have been no such cases.

3. Article 6 of the Convention. The Committee recalls that in its previous comments it had noted that members of the disciplinary forces were excluded from the scope of application of the IRA and requested the Government to indicate whether prison staff enjoyed the right to collective bargaining. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that prison personnel, as part of the disciplinary force, cannot participate in collective bargaining. The Committee recalls that the functions exercised by this category of worker should not justify their exclusion from the right to bargain collectively. It therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures so as to ensure that prison staff are granted the right to bargain collectively. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged in this respect.

The Committee has been informed that the Government has decided to avail itself of the ILO’s technical assistance towards bringing the national legislation into conformity with Convention No. 87 and hopes that the matters raised under Convention No. 98 will also be addressed on that occasion.

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The Committee notes the Government’s report.

The Committee notes the Government’s comments concerning collective bargaining rights of public servants not engaged in the administration of the State. It notes that the Government reports that the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) applies to all persons except a member of the disciplinary force, a person in the service of the Republic who is not a public officer, or a person in the judicial service. The Committee also notes that the IRA does not apply to prison service. It therefore requests the Government to indicate whether prison staff enjoy the right to collective bargaining.

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Acts of interference. The Committee had noted that there are no specific provisions in the IRA providing for protection against acts of interference. The Committee recalls that Article 2 of the Convention provides that employers’ and workers’ organizations shall enjoy adequate protection against any acts of interference by each other, including sufficiently rapid machinery and dissuasive sanctions against acts of interference by employers or their organizations into workers’ organizations, in particular, acts which are designed to promote the establishment of workers’ organizations under the domination or control by employees or employers’ organizations. It is important, therefore, to adopt specific measures, coupled with effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions, in order to ensure that the guarantees provided for in the Convention are respected. It requests the Government to adopt legislative provisions providing for protection against acts of interference coupled with effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions and to keep it informed in this respect.

Article 4 of the Convention. Collective agreements. The Committee had noted that, according to section 42(2) of the IRA, a collective agreement comes into force upon an approval by the Minister. While noting that the Minister can refuse to approve a collective agreement only if it does not comply with the IRA, and that such a refusal is subject to a judicial review by the Supreme Court (section 42(4) and (6)), the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether there have been instances of refusal by the Minister to approve a collective labour agreement and to specify grounds on which such decisions were taken.

The Committee further had noted that, while the legislation provides for a possibility for the parties to take the time they consider is needed to negotiate a collective agreement, either directly or through mediation, the legislation allows the authorities to refer the dispute for a compulsory arbitration at their own initiative if the parties cannot reach an agreement. While recalling that, in general, recourse to compulsory arbitration in cases where the parties do not reach an agreement through collective bargaining is permissible only in the context of essential services, in the strict sense of the term, and for civil servants engaged in the administration of the State, the Committee requests the Government to take measures to amend the legislation in order to put it into conformity with the requirements of the Convention.

The Committee requests the Government to consider concrete action in consultation with the most representative workers’ and employers’ organizations to introduce in the legislation the amendments requested.

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The Committee notes the Government’s report. It further notes the Industrial Relations Act of 1993 (IRA) and wishes to raise in this respect the following points.

Scope of application of the Convention. The Committee notes that the IRA does not apply to prison service. It therefore requests the Government to indicate whether prison staff enjoys the right to collective bargaining.

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. The Committee notes that there are no specific provisions in the IRA providing for protection against acts of interference. The Committee recalls that Article 2 of Convention No. 98 provides that workers’ and employers’ organizations shall enjoy adequate protection against any acts of interference by each other. It is important, therefore, to adopt specific measures, coupled with effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions, in order to ensure that the guarantees provided for in the Convention are respected. It therefore requests the Government to adopt legislative provisions providing for protection against acts of interference coupled with effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions and keep it informed in this respect.

Article 4. The Committee notes that, according to section 42(2) of the IRA, a collective agreement comes into force upon an approval by the Minister. While noting that the Minister can refuse to approve a collective agreement only if it does not comply with the IRA and that such a refusal is subject to a judicial review by the Supreme Court (section 42(4) and (6)), the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether there have been instances of refusal by the Minister to approve a collective labour agreement and to specify grounds on which such decisions were taken.

The Committee further notes that, while the legislation provides for a possibility for the parties to take the time they consider is needed to negotiate a collective agreement either directly or through mediation, the legislation allows the authorities to refer the dispute for a compulsory arbitration at their own initiative if the parties cannot reach an agreement. While recalling that, in general, recourse to compulsory arbitration in cases where the parties do not reach an agreement though collective bargaining is permissible only in the context of essential services in the strict sense of the term and for civil servants engaged in the administration of the State, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the number of instances when a collective labour dispute was referred to the Industrial Relations Tribunal and the average time used by the parties to settle their dispute on their own or with the help of a mediator before the case is referred for compulsory arbitration.

On the issue of collective bargaining rights of public servants, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that the legislation grants to public servants the right to collective bargaining and refers to its comments made under Convention No. 151.

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The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

The Committee requests the Government to provide copies of the legislative texts and administrative regulations mentioned in its report and to provide more detailed information on the collective bargaining rights of public servants not engaged in the administration of the State.

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The Committee takes note of the Government’s first report.