Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149) - Seychelles (Ratification: 1993)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report. It notes that the Government refers to the Nurses and Midwives Act (Revised 1991), the text of which is not available in the Office, and requests it to provide a copy. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the following points.

Article 2, paragraphs 1 and 3, of the Convention. The Committee notes the information that the Ministry of Health is responsible for the formulation and implementation of the National Health Policy. This policy applies to all "nursing personnel", that is to say to both female and male nurses. The Committee notes that there are certain policy guidelines (for example, health is recognized as a fundamental human right; determination of access to health care, not by health or position but by need; and the commitment of the Government to provide a free national health system to all Seychellois). The Committee also notes that national health priorities have been defined. The Committee requests the Government to indicate, firstly, whether the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned were consulted in the formation of this policy and, secondly, to provide information on its application in practice and the results achieved.

Article 2, paragraph 2. The Committee notes that section 15 of the Nurses and Midwives Act provides that the minister responsible for the administration of the Act may make regulations concerning vocational training, examinations and the conduct of examinations concerning nursing care. However, it notes that no regulations have been provided by the Government giving effect to section 15 above. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate whether such regulations have been adopted by the minister concerned and, if so, to provide a copy. The Committee also notes that a Scheme of Service of the Nursing Cadre determines the conditions of employment and career prospects and remuneration of nursing personnel. It requests the Government to provide a copy of the above Scheme of Service and to indicate any other measures taken to secure for nursing personnel engaged in the public and private sectors employment and working conditions, including career prospects and remuneration, which are likely to attract persons to the profession and retain them in it.

Article 2, paragraph 4. The Committee notes the information that inter sectoral action for the attainment of health for all is a priority objective. It notes that the ministries and institutions concerned with health matters have to add a health dimension to their sectoral policies to achieve this coordination. The Government concludes that all stakeholders are therefore involved in the coordination of the National Health Policy. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the machinery of this coordination, and the manner and framework in which the consultations envisaged by these provisions of the Convention are held.

Articles 3 and 4. The Committee notes that section 8 of the Nurses and Midwives Act establishes the requirements for the inclusion of nurses and midwives on the respective register. It notes that this section makes the Nurses and Midwives Council of Seychelles responsible for determining the basic requirements in terms of education and training of nursing personnel and for supervising such education and training. It therefore requests the Government to provide detailed information on the content of the education and training provided to nursing personnel and the examinations which they have to take. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate whether nursing education and training is coordinated with the education and training of other workers in the field of health, in accordance with Article 3, paragraph 2, of the Convention.

Article 5, paragraph 1. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, the objective of the Nurses and Midwives Council consists of involving nursing personnel through active participation in the planning of nursing services, through discussions with the management of nursing personnel and the Nursing Association. It notes that a Central Management Committee of the Ministry of Health also discusses major issues related to the planning of nursing personnel, and that the nurses are represented by the Director of Nurses. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether there is also participation by nursing personnel at the local level, which would make it possible to take into account the individual or specific claims of certain units, or whether such participation is secured at a higher level through the Council. It also requests the Government to provide further particulars concerning the operation of the Central Management Committee of the Ministry of Health.

Articles 5, paragraph 2, and 6. The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report to the effect that the conditions of employment and work of nursing personnel in the public sector are determined, on the one hand, by public services orders and, on the other hand, by collective agreements which may be negotiated on the basis of the collective bargaining agreement concluded between the Ministry of Administration and Manpower of the Seychelles and workers’ unions. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether collective agreements have in practice been negotiated within this framework and, if so, to provide copies. The Committee understands that the conditions of work of nurses in the private sector are determined by the Employment Act, 1995. It requests the Government to indicate whether there are collective agreements applicable to nursing personnel in the private sector and, if so, to provide copies. If there are no such agreements, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether collective bargaining is envisaged by the laws and regulations with a view to the determination of the conditions of employment and work of nursing personnel in the private sector. The Committee also notes that nurses are covered by conditions of service establishing criteria and procedures for promotion and the payment of allowances and bonuses. It notes that the information provided by the Government concerning the conditions of work in the fields mentioned in Article 6 shows that nursing personnel benefit from conditions which are at least equivalent to those of other workers in the country, as set out in the Conditions of Employment Regulations, 1991. The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the conditions of service of nurses and of the Public Service Orders.

Article 5, paragraph 3. The Committee notes that the Government’s report refers to the existence of an Investigation Committee established under the Nurses and Midwives Regulations, 1989. However, it notes that under sections 17 and 18 of these Regulations, the role of the Investigation Committee is to conduct investigations in order to allow the Council to make decisions on disciplinary matters. The information provided by the Government does not relate to the settlement of disputes arising in connection with the determination of terms and conditions of employment. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on this subject in its next report.

Article 7. In its general observation of 1990, which was repeated in 1994, the Committee emphasized the need to take measures to adapt the legislation on health and safety at work to the particular risk of accidental exposure of nursing personnel to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In this respect, it also draws the Government’s attention to the Code of practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work published in June 2001. The Committee notes the information that there is no special legislation in the Seychelles regulating the occupational health and safety of nursing work and of the environment in which the work is carried out, but that occasional workshops are held in this field, which also cover HIV/AIDS measures. It also notes that an Occupational Health Unit has been established in the Ministry of Health to guide and sensitize nurses to the potential risks and dangers that exist in their working environment, and that all necessary protection is provided to nurses to protect others against communicable diseases. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures which have been taken or are envisaged, in consultation with the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned, to adapt the national legislation in this field and to take into account the particular risk of accidental exposure to HIV among nursing personnel, for example through the arrangement of conditions of work, the confidentiality of test results and recognition that the cause of infection was occupational, etc.

Part III of the report form. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the application of the relevant laws, regulations and collective agreements is assured.

Part V of the report form. The Committee requests the Government to provide general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, in so far as possible, statistics on the numbers of nursing personnel, by sector of activity and by level of training and functions, and their relation to the population, to the number of patients and to other workers in the health field, and on the number of persons leaving the profession.