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17 December, 2007
ICEM affiliate Chemical, Manufacturing and Connected Trades Employees’ Union (CMCTEU) has engaged in a global effort to block two pieces of government legislation coming soon to a vote in the National Assembly of the Indian Ocean island-nation.
The two bills the Employments Relations Bill and the Employment Rights Bill. CMCTEU issued a statement saying the government is pressing the measures to a vote in this legislative session before extensive dialogue between the social partners can occur. They ask the ICEM to take this struggle to a global level by asking trade union affiliates to write letters to the Mauritius Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment opposing the measures.
That minister is Dr. Vasant Bunwaree and letters can go to [email protected].
The Employment Relations Bill has many shortcomings, namely an erosion of workers’ rights, a cumbersome strike certification process, and restrictions on jobless workers over unemployment pay and ability to regain employment. The legislation also decreases sick leave time and gives no collective trade union protection to workers in small enterprises.
The proposed laws also contain no penalties for employers who unjustly fire workers.
The ILO’s International Labour Office has assessed both pieces of legislation. It said that social and labour policies enacted into law must be the result of extensive consultation and social dialogue. It also concluded that the draft statutes set forth no criteria on how the two will function together, and says the legislation as written is short on administrative monitoring compliance. The ILO was also critical of language in the proposed statutes, which, in many places, is not gender-neutral.