Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144) - Seychelles (Ratification: 2005)

The Committee notes the observations made by the Seychelles Federation of Workers’ Unions (SFWU) received in August 2017, as well as the observations made by the Association of Seychelles Employers received in September 2017.

Article 5 of the Convention. Effective tripartite consultations. The Committee welcomes the detailed information provided by the Government in its report. The Government indicates that, for purposes of the Convention, tripartite consultations are undertaken in the National Consultative Committee on Employment (NCCE), which provides a platform for discussions between the tripartite partners. Nevertheless, in its observations, the SFWU observes that the NCCE has not been active for some time. It also observes that, apart from the NCCE, workers’ organizations are represented on other tripartite entities, such as the Occupational Health and Safety Board, the Productivity Committee, the Decent Work Country Programme Advisory Committee and the Employment Tribunal. The Association of Seychelles Employers observes that while the NCCE has not been meeting for the last few years, any issues affecting the Association of Seychelles Employers or its members are communicated with the competent officers at the Ministry of Employment. The Government adds that the Ministry of Employment, Immigration and Civil Status communicates all questionnaires concerning items on the agenda of the International Labour Conference to the social partners and to relevant stakeholders for their inputs, in addition to communicating the final version of the texts prior to their submission to the ILO (Article 5(1)(a)). With regard to the submission of instruments to the competent authorities (Article 5(1)(b)), the Government notes that, in 2014, the Republic of Seychelles presented a Cabinet Memorandum informing the Government of the pending instruments adopted by the International Labour Conference to be submitted to the National Assembly. The Government adds that the submission of all proposals to the national competent authority will be undertaken before the end of 2017 and that the remaining two Conventions and two Protocols will be submitted to the National Assembly by the end of July 2018. With regard to the examination of unratified Conventions (Article 5(1)(c)), the Government indicates that ILO reports on unratified Conventions and Recommendations are circulated to the social partners and relevant stakeholders each year for their inputs prior to their submission to the ILO. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, during the reporting period, tripartite consultations were held on sick leave and paternity leave in which the following unratified Conventions were discussed: the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102), the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202); the Medical Care and Sickness Benefits Convention, 1969 (No. 130); the Sickness Insurance (Industry) Convention, 1927 (No. 24), and the Sickness Insurance (Agriculture) Convention, 1927 (No. 25). With respect to the topic of paternity leave, the tripartite consultations included consideration of the possible ratification of the Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183), and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 191), as well as the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156). Furthermore, in response to the Committee’s previous request, the Government indicates that tripartite consultations will be held to re-examine the possible ratification of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), following the launch of the revised National Employment Policy in April 2014 and in light of the ongoing revision of its Action Plan 2014–16. The Government explains that, at present, it does not intend to consider the ratification of the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129), given that the Seychelles ratified the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), and its limited human resources do not permit it to extend the inspection structure to cover specific areas. Finally, the Government indicates that no proposals have been made during the reporting period for the denunciation of ratified Conventions and provides a list of Conventions which have been automatically denounced due to the ratification of the revising Conventions (Article 5(1)(c)). The Committee requests the Government to continue supplying detailed information on the content and outcome of tripartite consultations held on the matters relating to international labour standards covered by Article 5(1) of the Convention, including consultations on the re-examination of unratified Conventions.