The Minister of Employment, Immigration and Civil Status Ms Myriam Telemaque, undertook twelve Ministerial visits throughout the year 2017 to various workplaces covering different Industries such as retail, manufacturing, transportation but mostly tourism on Mahe, Praslin, La Digue and Felicite. These visits were part of her ongoing agenda to consolidate strong partnership with the private sector and to provide support to companies as well as employees to ensure stability thus continued economic development and sustainability.

During these visits, the Minister is usually accompanied by a delegation of senior officers responsible for various aspects of employment. The visits usually comprise of a tour of the premises and brief interactions with members of staff at their work station and finally a briefing with the management to discuss the way forward.

In this centre spread we provide a review of some of the visits undertaken last year and highlight some good practices and achievements that have come as a result.

A brief overview of the workplaces visited:

1. Casino Liberte

The Casino Liberte at Baie Lazare was visited on the 18th August. It officially opened its doors in October 2016 and employs staff comprising of 35 locals and 21 non-Seychellois.

 2. Seychelles Breweries

The country's local brewery also received a visit from the Minister where she expressed her satisfaction generally of the working environment and conditions. Seychelles Breweries has been in existence since 1973 and presently employs 134 locals and 5 non-Seychellois workers.

3. Global Supplies Centre

With the aim of creating a closer working dialogue and ensuring equal opportunities among workers, the minister visited the Global Supplies Centre which specialises in importation and wholesale distribution of goods. GSC employs 30 locals and 35 non-Seychellois workers.

 4. Seychelles Ports Authority

The Minister's visit to the Seychelles Ports Authority gave her an insight on the developmental plan of the ports so that an effective workforce plan could be formulated.

5. Air Seychelles

The Minister's visit to Air Seychelles that was done over the course of days from September the 21st to 22nd, included visits to the Victoria sales office, Praslin terminal operations as well as operations at and near the International airport. She interacted with the workers at their station and the management were discussions focused on certain challenges being encountered at both levels.

 6. Ile du Port Handling Services (IPHS)

As a new business venture, IPHS Quay received a visit from the Minister with the aim of gaining more of an insight on the operations and interact with the workers. Seychelles having entered into an agreement with Jaccar Holdings to build and operate a 425 metre commercial fishing quay under which a Seychelles-based joint venture named Ile du Port Handling Services (IPHS) was created. The company employs 40 locals and 56 non-Seychellois workers.

7. Constance Ephelia Hotel and Resort

The Minister's visit to Constance Ephelia was one where she experienced a high level of staff satisfaction. The hotel was commended for maintaining their status among hotels with more local workers than non-Seychellois. The hotel employs 405 locals and 356 non-Seychellois workers.

8. Le Domaine de L'Orangeraie

On the 24th November, Le Domaine de L'Orangeraie received a visit from the Minister. The staff of the resort and spa situated at Anse Severe on La Digue- of which 114 are locals and 93 are non-Seychellois expressed their gratitude for the visit and made known of the favourable working conditions as well as challenges being faced by them.

9. Six Senses-Zil Pasyon Resort Ltd.

At the Minister's visit to Six Senses Resort on Felicite Island, there was a strong sense of devotion to work among employees especially those who have been with the resort since pre-opening of which 70 are locals and 125 are non-Seychellois workers. The resort being under the tourism industry, presented a beautiful environment and standard working practices.

Some pertinent achievements:

i) General Staff Meeting

Workers inclusion and participation are important aspects of human resource management. Staff meeting is a process that allows for exchange of information and provides the opportunity for employees to raise concerns that they may have and make certain contribution on the operations of a business. Of the 12 workplaces visited, 5 were not conducting regular meetings with their staff. As a result of the visits, three have started the meetings. The remaining two will start during the course of this year.

ii) Progression/Development Plan

This was one of the most commonly raised concerns by staff of the workplaces visited. Without a clear progression and development plan for its workers a business will have difficulty to grow and prosper. The five businesses where this was more critical have all formulated and put in place the plan. The Ministry is to closely monitor particularly when it comes to the localization of posts that have been identified.

iii) Salary Structure/Appraisal

Another issue seriously affecting good employee relations in the workplace is the disparity in salary between non-Seychellois workers and locals that comes about as a result of the absence of a proper salary structure. It allows for perceived unfairness amongst staff thus creates discontentment and affects staff motivation. The yearly appraisal to measure performance is also not available in certain workplaces or not done regularly. Of the 4 workplaces identified as a point of major concerns, one has already put in place a salary structure and the 3 others are reviewing theirs to be done by first quarter of the year. This issue will be addressed in the Labour Migration Policy that is due to be introduced early 2019.

iv) Policy on Service Charge

This topic was discussed at practically every hotel that was visited. In some cases the workers were not in agreement with the conditions established by the employer in order to receive the service charge. Where those conditions were according to the general policy on service charge, this was explained to the staff. At only one establishment were there no written policy for staff to refer to. This has already been rectified. Whereas at another hotel the Minister asked management to reconsider certain conditions that were found to be too harsh compared to what is being practiced at other similar hotels. This is under review.

v) Benefits

This is an aspect that the Minister encourages workplaces to have in order to attract and retain workers. It is encouraging to note that upon proposals by the Minister herself an establishment facing some serious staff turnover has already introduced certain additional benefits for its workers to the likes of, free breakfast and lunch for all staff, special allowance for those working in harsh conditions, half day off in a month for those working on Saturdays, and 5% discount on purchase of wholesale items.

Commitments as listed above and others made by the management of the establishments during the visits are being followed-up closely for implementation. It is important to note that certain commitments can only be achieved in the long-term so as not to affect the viability of the business.

Visits for 2018 will start first week of February 2018.