Nirmal Kumar Betchoo
14 September 2007
Port Louis — Unionization has been extended to new categories of employees like firemen.
The new Employment Relations Bill has now been brought to public attention after some two years since the actual government stepped to power. It stated that there should be some noteworthy changes to repeal the former Industrial Relations Act 1973. Trade unions have shown their resistance since the publication of this much-awaited report which has always been considered as a new vision in terms of industrial relations in the modern Mauritian industrial context.
Some essential amendments are: the reduction of sick leaves from 21 to 15, the eventuality of paid local leaves, more democratic procedures to go on strike as well as paternity rights. Important developments have also been suggested in the field of working hours both for men and women where notably, women will have lesser restrictions on working time. Working hours are regulated with an upper ceiling of 90 hours per fifteen days with a twelve-hour upper limit for one day.
The new Employment Relations Bill does not come forward as a paradigm shift in industrial relations. It rather considers changes in a subtle way while bringing in some modifications which fit in the contemporary context of industrial relations.
Firstly, sex and racial discrimination will no more be tolerated at the workplace. This is a major development although the existing work environment calls for restraint and avoidance of such practices. It is clear that women will have wider opportunities for upward mobility in the government and private sectors where their representation remains low, namely at the strategic level.
Discrimination should not only involve race or gender. The new bill should have given incisive arguments concerning workplace diversity namely in the form of acceptance of gay workers, HIV-sick employees and the disabled. These categories of employees are still highly despised in an ever evolving local industrial climate. Although companies made an effort to accept disabled workers, little is said about the other two types of workers who deserve being integrated in the new work environment after facing long-term stigma.
Paternity rights should be allowed
Paternity rights represent an opportunity in the new legislation where parenting fathers can benefit for some time to look after their new-born babies. Although the private sector has shown some reservation towards it namely regarding absenteeism, paternity rights should be allowed in Mauritius taking into consideration the existence of nuclear families, single couples along with working parents who have too little time to spare with their babies in this critical stage of their existence. Paternity leaves come in as acquired rights but remain meaningful since they will not occupy the same time frame occupied by the traditional maternity leaves.
The need for increasing unionisation is a key feature of the Employee Relations Bill. Mauritius is fairly well-unionized with some 25% of employees opting for trade union membership while only 10% unionisation reflects a constrained work environment for EPZ companies. However, the need for union recognition with thirty members remains daunting if smaller and flatter organisations are taken into account. For such organisations, the closed-shop system would be recommended where employees could join the union first before getting the employment offer.
It is noted with regret that the non existence of such closed shops for specialised jobs still makes it harsh for such employees to feel secure in difficult times especially when jobs are scarce or when redundancy stares upon them. Unionization has been extended to new categories of employees namely security guards and firemen. The police force is still barred in such a stance but it would be agreeable that, in a situation where harmony appeals to every employee, these officers could claim an affiliation with the larger trade union federations representing state employees.
The most fundamental element of the new legislation is the acceptance of strike action as the ultimate action which workers must consider. Strike action has always been declared illegal with consequences affecting employees thereafter. The new legislation accepts it as a last resort but puts in mechanisms that are enduring and complex. Although, the formal recognition of strike is not present, there should be statements concerning the aftermath of strike action, if ever this is declared in a company.
In many cases, intimidation, the threat of dismissal, disciplinary action, including punitive measures exist. The present legislation should have mentioned that albeit unjustified violence in strike action, employees participating in peaceful strikes should be exempted from any such problem. To protest is a right since employees must give their viewpoint whenever they feel that their rights have been abused.
Severance allowance at a punitive rate in case of non-payment of arrears and the sudden closure of the manufacturing industries comes in as an action in grace. Many semi-skilled and skilled workers occupying the operational level of their firm had to bear the unsympathetic consequences of being laid off overnight without getting the right to claim for compensation. This effort is commendable where the retrenched worker gets at least the chance of being financially secured for a temporary period before getting another job. The transition unemployment benefit in this related case is creditable along with the regressive compensation system before the employee becomes reemployed.
New workplace environment
Broadly, the new Employment Relations Bill does not represent a fundamental approach to industrial relations but attempts in several ways to look into matters which were not issues of the past and where corrective action was not initiated. It does not represent a dramatic change from the 1973 Industrial Relations Act but serves as an opportunity to bridge the former legislation with the new workplace environment. Mauritius, already affected by the triple shock of quota removal, price rebate for sugar exports and the oil prices, now faces greater challenges like the modernisation of work, the implementation of new technological processes, deregulated working hours and an intensely competitive industrial environment.
In this regards, the new Employment Relations Bill comes in as a salutary initiative since it considers the human dimension of the work environment. Rather than assuming that rules should be promulgated in a mechanical and bureaucratic way, it seeks opportunities to revamp human resource management in Mauritius. As stated earlier, the new bill is basically transitory in nature with improvements brought in several areas. The credit goes to recognising trade unionism, consolidating worker rights while extending opportunities for better productivity through some reengineering of sick and casual leaves.
Trade unions will have their part to say although they must accept that an employee-focused industrial relations strategy is far better than a profit-based or productivity-based one. Flaws may exist but, the replacement of the former IRA remains a good effort where there has been a reasonable endeavour to give a face-lift to industrial relations in a contemporary context. So far, the essence of the change remains a good initiative although some refinement through representation and debate deserve to be encouraged in this democratic workplace environment of that Mauritius boasts within sub-Saharan Africa.
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