Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

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

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.