Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

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

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.