'Working hard today for a better future'

Labour Day is a day of solidarity, to celebrate gains and achieve a future of work that provides decent and sustainable work opportunities for all.

Employment, Immigration and Civil Status Minister Myriam Télémaque said this in her message to celebrate Labour Day tomorrow, May 1.

The minister's message reads:

"As we celebrate this year's International Labour Day under the theme 'Working hard today for a better future' translated in Creole 'Travay Dir Ozordi Pour en Meyer Lavenir', let us all as workers reflect on the significance of work and its benefit to us, our family and our country.

"It is a day of solidarity, to celebrate gains and achieve a future of work that provides decent and sustainable work opportunities for all. It is a future that we must make according to the values and the preferences that we choose as societies and through the policies that we design and implement. Employment, sustainability, labour mobility, equity, social dialogue, human security and education are all key policy issues of our time which need to be tackled in a future of work initiative.

"It falls on each of us to look at the longer term drivers of change and the transformational trends and what they imply for the economy as a whole and for the goals we pursue.

"In Seychelles, we have long recognised that our people are our most valuable resource. Thus, the government has heavily invested in education and training. We have introduced policies and conditions that would first and foremost, adequately provide better working conditions, improve social protection, protect workers' safety and health in all workplaces, increase productivity and sustainability, and also there are new job assistance initiatives for individuals of our society being affected by social ills.

"The nature of employment in the world today is evolving which also has an effect on the labour demands in our country. With regards to this we see the importance to partner with stakeholders in order to create a culture of desired working habits and enhancement in the next generation who will play a vital role in reshaping the labour market framework of this country. "Today we can claim some improvements as seen in data published by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that the employment rate has reduced from 4.4% in 2016 to 3.9% in 2017. The youth employment rate has also reduced from 12.3% in 2016 to 10.7 % in 2017. This serves to prove that the different employment services and programmes in place are effective, and the government is determined to further decrease the employment rate, given there are ample opportunities for employment in the country.

"We need to continue to inculcate in our children at a very young age the notion that no job is inferior to the other and that all jobs are decent if the basic working conditions are observed. "These conditions as espoused by the International Labour Organisation include a minimum wage, health and safety at work and respect for human dignity.

"As a ministry, facilitating access to employment of our young people is one of our priorities and we have a major responsibility to empower them and give them the tools to rise above their challenges so that they can flourish in their job. Through our different initiatives and programmes such as 'My First Job' scheme and 'Skills Development Programme', we assist the unemployed young people to seize every opportunity available and to use the best of their potentials. In doing so, we instill in them the confidence and the necessary skills to succeed.

"For the next five years my ministry will concentrate its efforts on five strategic objectives, namely: enhancing employability of the unemployed, promote fair and safe working conditions, improve the management of the non-Seychellois, enhance social dialogue in economic sectors and, improve service delivery.

"My ministry is also working in close collaboration with the ILO as the second Seychelles Decent Work Country Programme is being drafted to compliment the plan's strategic outcomes. The programme is one of the ministry's key working documents geared at addressing the key challenges faced by the labour market, nationally.

"It is crucial that we do all that is possible to steer our country to a new phase of development which will bring more progress. Working together is about understanding one another, about viewing others as partners and having a sense of belonging to Seychelles incorporated. Through a real national spirit of partnership, economic partners should have proper dialogue for capacity building.

"My ministry remains committed to ensuring that the labour market is supplied with the required quality workforce to meet the demands of our striving economy through its various programmes. My ministry equally reaffirms its commitment in ensuring that human resources are treated as the most invaluable resources in the workplace. The needs of our workers will be properly assessed in order to motivate and attain the optimal results and a win-win situation for both employers and workers.

"As the theme for this year's Labour Day indicates, the only way to guarantee our wellbeing is through hard work and hope this motivates all workers to be whole-heartedly involved in the construction and maintenance of our families, communities and our country which reflect this year's national theme Sesel Mon Pei Beni.

"Finally I call on all workers in Seychelles to continue to work hard and earn more so that we can also benefit from the wealth that our country is generating. Our country needs our collective effort, our talents, skills and our goodwill.

"I wish all workers of Seychelles, a Happy Labour Day".