Stakeholders get acquainted with new decent work country programme

27-November-2018

Key stakeholders have embarked on a two-day capacity building workshop to get better acquainted with the new Seychelles Decent Work Country Programme 2019-2023.

The workshop is being hosted by the Ministry of Employment, Immigration and Civil Status and facilitated by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

It was officially launched yesterday at the Savoy Resort & Spa by the principal secretary for employment, Jules Baker.

The workshop’s objective is to prepare government officials, representatives from the private sector and other relevant stakeholders in the implementation of the programme which will officially be signed and launched tomorrow.

The Seychelles Decent Work Country Programme (SDWCP) 2019-2023 is the country’s second generation of such programme.

The first SDWCP was signed in 2011 and came to an end in 2015.

The decent work is a concept of the ILO based on the understanding that work is a source of personal dignity, family stability, peace in the community, democracies that deliver for people and economic growth that expands opportunities for productive jobs and enterprise development.

During his opening remarks PS Baker noted that the decent work programme is of great importance to the promotion of national development and in the implementation of national and international frameworks.

“Much has been achieved in the first decent work programme for Seychelles 2011-2015 which was extended into 2017 in our quest to provide the best possible livelihood for our working people,” PS Baker stated.

He however added that the first SDWCP had faced various challenges in its implementation which they hope to remediate in the implementation of the second SDWCP.

“With the launch of the new SDWCP, I see great promising prospects for Seychelles. The challenge will be in the implementation of the various projects under the decent work programme.”

Due to the fact that employment issues cut across all sectors the programme will necessitate joint actions to be undertaken by all of these sectors, PS Baker added.

“Focus will be placed on delivering results that could positively impact on people’s lives and I am sure that with the help of the ILO you will be exposed with the necessary knowledge towards the successful implementation of the second generation of the decent work programme for 2019-2023,” PS Baker told the participants.

Redha Amaeur, the regional specialist on HIV and Aids at the ILO, also made note of various mistakes in the implementation of decent work programmes in various countries adding that the ILO is learning from those mistakes.

“Moving from the concept to the implementation has been more difficult than we imagined, not only in Seychelles but in other countries so we ended up agreeing to spend more time and resources, and to make sure we answer the questions you have on the decent work programme.”

Mr Amaeur further stated that the implementation of the decent work programme relies mainly on three elements: having the right understanding of the decent work programme, ensuring the division of labour to know who is working on what and effective coordination.

Susan Morel, technical advisor at the department, also gave an in-depth presentation on the SDWCP 2019-2023 which includes three key national priorities.

These are the creation of decent and productive employment, strengthening of social dialogue and tripartite institutions and the effective implementation of the international labour standards.

The workshop concludes today and will be followed tomorrow by the signing of the memorandum of understanding by the government, social partner and the ILO on the SDCW 2.

Complements of Seychelles NATION