Mauritius - 2012

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Population: 1,300,000
Capital: Port Louis
Government figures showed an alarmingly high rate of dismissals of trade union representatives. Trade unions protested after a blatant failure to consult them over reforms in the sugar industry that would impact on jobs, and nine trade unionists were arrested for a peaceful demonstration outside parliament. The employers refused to sign the ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights ’s Decent Work Country Programme.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)

reported violations - 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Background

Mauritius is one of Africa’s most economically stable countries, although there were fears that ongoing water shortages could impact its tourism industry. In July, six Militant Socialist Movement ministers left the government in protest at the arrest of the health minister on corruption charges.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population: 1,300,000
Capital: Port Louis

reported violations- 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Trade union rights in law

The 2008 Employment Relations Act includes measures to promote collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
, and also recognises the right to bargain at the sectoral level. However, many restrictions apply to the right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike . To call a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike , a complex conciliation conciliation An attempt by a neutral third party, a conciliator, to aid the settling of an industrial dispute by improving communications, offering advice and interpreting issues to bring the disputing parties to a point where they can reconcile their differences. The conciliator does not take as active a role as a mediator or an arbitrator.

See arbitration, mediation and mediation mediation A process halfway between conciliation and arbitration, in mediation a neutral third party assists the disputing parties in reaching a settlement to an industrial dispute by suggesting possible, non-binding solutions.

See arbitration, conciliation procedure must be exhausted, which can last up to two months in total. Both the requirement regarding the voting system and the necessary quorum in a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike ballot are excessive, and unions can not call a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike concerning general economic policy issues.

Furthermore, all demonstrations are prohibited during the sittings of the Parliamentary Assembly, as are all strikes at the national level. Even when a lawful strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike is organised, the Prime Minister can request the Supreme Court to prohibit it and refer the dispute to arbitration arbitration A means of resolving disputes outside the courts through the involvement of a neutral third party, which can either be a single arbitrator or an arbitration board. In non-binding arbitration, the disputing parties are free to reject the third party’s recommendation, whilst in binding arbitration they are bound by its decision. Compulsory arbitration denotes the process where arbitration is not voluntarily entered into by the parties, but is prescribed by law or decided by the authorities.

See conciliation, mediation . A minimum service minimum service The operations needed in a public or private establishment during a strike, normally to avoid compromising the life or basic needs of the population or causing irreversible damages.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework must be established in far too many sectors.

Additional information regarding the legislation
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population: 1,300,000
Capital: Port Louis

reported violations - 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

In practice

Migrant workers: Migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to trade union rights’ violations. When these workers go on strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike , the coordinated response of the employers and the authorities is often to send them back to their country of origin on the grounds of “breach of contract” and “illegal strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike ”. Many migrants are employed on short-term contracts, particularly in the sugar plantations and textile industry, and in practice they cannot organise. The working conditions of Bangladeshi migrants in Mauritius have been described as being akin to modern slavery. The ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights ’s Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) has asked the government to indicate the measures taken to guarantee migrant workers their trade union rights, both in law and in practice.
Export processing zones: Employers in the export processing zones (EPZ export processing zone A special industrial area in a country where imported materials are processed before being re-exported. Designed to attract mostly foreign investors by offering incentives such as exemptions from certain trade barriers, taxes, business regulations, and/or labour laws. s) remain hostile to the unions, who find it very difficult to approach the workers given that, in most cases, trade unionists are denied access to the industrial sites. As a result, union membership levels in the EPZ export processing zone A special industrial area in a country where imported materials are processed before being re-exported. Designed to attract mostly foreign investors by offering incentives such as exemptions from certain trade barriers, taxes, business regulations, and/or labour laws. s are below 12%. The ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights has consistently highlighted the need for greater protection against acts of interference by employers and employer organisations in the activities of trade unions and the need for rapid appeals procedures and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions in this regard. The ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights ’s Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) has urged the government to take measures for the promotion of collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
in all areas of economic activity.
Decent Work - Employers’ federation refuses to sign Decent Work Country Programme : In October 2011, the Labour Minister called on the ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights to intervene after the Mauritius Employers’ Federation (MEF) refused to sign the Decent Work Country Programme, despite being closely involved in the negotiations to develop it. These programmes, that form the basis of ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights assistance to the country and aim to promote decent work are based on tripartism tripartism The principle of involvement of and interaction between three parties having equal status, namely the social partners and the government.

See social dialogue, International Labour Organization , hence the employers are an essential partner in the process. The Minister believed the MEF was withholding its signature as a means of putting pressure on him over a bargaining dispute involving the la Mauritius Sugar Producers Association (MSPA).
High level of dismissals of union representatives in the private sector:

The Federation of United Workers (Féderation des Travailleurs Unis - FTU) held a demonstration outside the Labour Ministry on 23 September to protest at what its General Secretary Atma Shanto described as an “alarming” rate of dismissals of trade union representatives in the private sector. Figures released by the Ministry showed that 8,000 trade union representatives had been dismissed between 2008 and 2011.

The trade union presence in the private sector has steadily dwindled, leaving only the sugar industry with structured unions and active grass roots militants. Even the sugar industry unions may be at risk. Under the Employment Relations Act, employers can withdraw recognition recognition The designation by a government agency of a union as the bargaining agent for workers in a given bargaining unit, or acceptance by an employer that its employees can be collectively represented by a union. from any union that represents less than 30% of the workforce - some unions in the sugar industry do not meet this target.

ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population: 1,300,000
Capital: Port Louis

reported violations - 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Violations

Government ignores unions in sugar industry reforms : In September, the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC), the Service Providing Institutions of the Sugar Sector (SPISS), the Mauritius Trade Union Congress (MTUC) and the Mauritius Labour Congress joined forces to hold a protest demonstration following the government’s failure to consult them over reforms in the sugar industry. The government had decided to cut funding to the parastatal bodies providing services in the sector and many feared for their jobs. The unions had requested dialogue, but their letters had remained unanswered.
Nine unionists arrested : Atma Shanto, General Secretary, and eight other members of the United Workers Federation (Fédération des Travailleurs Unis - FTU) were arrested by police on 14 November after they had staged a peaceful demonstration in front of the National Assembly. According to the law, no demonstrations are allowed in front of Government House when Parliament is in session. They were arrested under Section 8 of the “Public Gathering Act,” but the police later had to change the charges as the Act is applicable only when at least 12 people are involved. Instead they brought charges of obstructing access to parliament. The FTU in its turn brought a formal complaint against the police for breach of their freedom of assembly, expression and movement. The protest was about the mistreatment of workers at the “La Plantation” hotel.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population: 1,300,000
Capital: Port Louis

reported violations - 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
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