As part of the activities to promote this years’ National Theme of ‘‘Striving for our Seychelles’’, in February of this year, the National Theme Steering Committee, chaired by Minister Idith Alexander launched a National Theme Poster Competition.

The aim of the competition, which was for Secondary and Post Secondary Schools was to sensitize students on the values encased in the National Theme which has been retained from 2012. This was done to enable the nation to continue working towards building the New Seychelles.

In their posters, the students had to depict their understanding of the values in this years’ Theme. The posters were judged for their content, relevance to the Theme, use of colours as well as the clarity of the message being displayed.

Altogether, a total of 26 posters were received, 18 were from Secondary Schools students and 8 were from Post Secondary School students.

A Prize Giving Ceremony was held on Thursday 4^th October 2013 at the National Cultural Centre to award the winning participants with their prizes. Present was Minister Alexander, Principal Secretary Ms Veronique Bresson for Labour, members of the National Theme Steering Committee and the participants accompanied by their teachers.

Mr Ahmed Essack won the first prize for the Post Secondary School category with Mr Revesson Pillay coming second and Ms Elvina Brutus third. For the Secondary School category, Mr Terry Moncherry came out first with Mr Eric Contoret in second place and Ms Chloe Pascal taking third place.

The winning posters will be incorporated into a calendar for 2014.

Staff of the Ministry of Labour and Human Resource Development committed to playing their part in ensuring a greener Seychelles for future generations and mitigating some of the effects caused by global warming. On Saturday 7th September 2013, the Social Committee planted some 20 palm trees in the grounds of the temporary Glacis School crèche. This activity is in line with the Life Campaign, an initiative from the Ministry of Environment and Energy. Apart from assisting the Ministry of Environment and Energy to achieve its target of planting 20,000 trees and helping the environment, the activity also aimed to promote team work amongst its staff members. This is the second community work activity undertaken by the Ministry’s staff this year. On 6th July 2013 staff volunteered to clean and paint the Old People’s Residence at Au Cap. This activity was done with the aim of giving back to the community, especially those who have contributed a lot towards the development of our country. The Social Committee has plans to organize a lot more of such activities.

On Friday 2^nd August 2013, the Minister for Labour and Human Resource Development, Ms Idith Alexander accompanied by the Minister for Tourism and Culture, Mr Alain St Ange and high officials from their Ministries conducted a visit to Denis Private Island.

The aim of Minister Alexander’s visit remains to enhance partnership while at the same time build a stronger working relationship with organizations in the private sector.

The Ministers and their delegation were greeted by the Managing Director, Mrs Kathy Mason and Mr Michael Mason who took them on a guided tour of the hotel and the facilities it offers. The Ministers had the opportunity to interact with the staff working at the hotel, where it was noted that a majority of them were Non-Seychellois. Of the nine Seychellois she spoke to, the general feedback received was positive with only three raising minor concerns.

This was brought up by Minister Alexander during the debriefing with the Management team who informed her that they will take these points into consideration and try to come up with feasible solutions to address them.

The hotel Management team on their part pointed out that they are having difficulty to recruit and retain Seychellois staff members. They also noted that they are experiencing high plane charter service fees which have meant that they have had to make changes in the way they operate.

On this note, the Minister commended the owners of the hotel for taking the initiative to become self sufficient in regards to rearing their own livestock, growing their own fruits and vegetables through innovative ways and producing their own ham and dairy produce.

The long serving local staff said that the attraction for them to work on an island is that it allows them to make savings. The Minister is therefore encouraging more people, especially the youths, to consider doing the same as in addition to the perfect opportunity of saving for their future, there are a number of benefits open to them such as working in a more tranquil atmosphere and being closer to nature. Mrs Mason assured the Minister that she is ready to work with the Ministry to come up with an attractive package for Seychellois to promote this initiative.

Mrs Mason thanked the Ministers and their officers for the visit and assured them that the points discussed would be taken on board.

The Minister for Labour and Human Resource Development, Ms Idith Alexander, visited two establishments located on Praslin as part of her Ministerial visits to organizations located within the private sector on Friday 12^th July 2013.

Accompanying the Minister were high officials from her Ministry. The aims of the visits remain the same, for her Ministry to familiarize itself with the workings of the private sector while at the same time building and maintaining a strong relationship by ensuring that the Employment laws of the Seychelles are being observed.

First to be visited was the Paradise Sun Hotel where the delegation was greeted by the General Manager, Mr Philippe Bethune, the Human Resources Manager Ms Annabelle Hoareau and the Front Office Manager Ms Irene Robert. The Ministerial delegation was taken on a guided tour of all the Departments.

During her visit, Minister Alexander had the opportunity to speak to various members of the staff from all departments who readily shared their work experience, achievements and constraints which concerned mainly their salaries.

During the debriefing, Minister Alexander touched on the points that were raised by staff members during her visit. The management team was encouraged to establish a salary structure that is well defined in order to bridge the gap between the salary of non-Seychellois and Seychellois workers. She also pointed out the importance of having a training plan, a retention policy with good incentives and performance appraisals conducted at appropriate times in order to identify training needs and for rewarding good performance. She added that this will boost staff morale and in turn increase job satisfaction thus creating a more conducive work environment. The Minister ended by commending the hotel for providing opportunities to local staff to occupy supervisory positions.

Mr Bethune thanked the Minister and her officials for visiting the Hotel and said that he is ready to work closely with the Ministry in order to address all the points discussed.

For the second visit, the Ministerial delegation went to the Cote D’Or Lodge where they were met by the General Manager, Mr Marco Zinna and his Deputy Mr Steven Baronne who provided them with a tour of the hotel. Staff members were given the opportunity to interact with the Minister and put forward their concerns, which focussed on training opportunities, shortage of staff in certain areas and lack of communication between staff and management.

During the debriefing, the Minister stressed that communication amongst the staff and with the Heads of Department is essential. She added that everyone should try to communicate and resolve their problems internally. The management staff was urged to compile and forward their localization plan in time for it to be incorporated in the National Human Resource Plan.

The discussions also focussed around training where the Minister asked the hotel to submit its training plan so that the NHRDC can assist the staff in getting the same training opportunities that is offered to staff in the tourism sector on Mahe. She ended by asking the management staff to carry out their respective duties conscientiously and to the best of their abilities.

Mr Zinna on his part thanked the Ministerial delegation for coming to visit the Depot and said that he is looking forward to having a long and productive relationship with the Ministry.

Since the 27^th May, the NHRDC has been to different schools in the country to sensitize pupils on the work opportunities that lay ahead of them after secondary and post-secondary education and to inform them on the importance of making the right decision for their future careers bearing in mind the needs of our country. This year, the NHRDC has decided to conduct talks with upper primary school students, namely primary six. All primary six and secondary schools in the Seychelles have been thought of, including those on Praslin and La Digue.

The pupils from Silhouette have also not been left behind despite being part of a very small school, they were catered for in a talk at the Ile Perseverance primary school on Tuesday 2^nd July. The talk was given by the Director of Training and Development Section at NHRDC, Ms. Françoise Mein.

After being welcomed by Ms. Mein, the students were given an overview of the role and functions of NHRDC which is to develop human resource to be able to counter the shortages of skilled professionals in the different sectors of the economy.

Addressing the pupils, Ms. Mein explained the importance of assessing their interests and capabilities that will in turn guide them to choose the right post secondary institution to later on choose the right career. She continued by advising the pupils to choose a career they have an interest in. For this, they will have to look at who they are as a person as well as their hobbies to avoid any future career change.

 “If you love planting and gardening you can take up a career in farming or if you love to read and write you can take up teaching or journalism” Ms. Mein explained as she gave the pupils some examples.

Ms. Mein pointed out the consequences of choosing the wrong career path or choosing a career that is not in demand which will result in skills shortages in some sectors and the need for foreign workers. On the same note, pupils were advised to act early and start taking their studies more seriously.

The talk ended with a round of questions from the young pupils where their doubts and uncertainties were clarified. Ms. Mein thanked the pupils for their participation and reminded them again of their importance to the country as they are the future.

Ministers call for concerted efforts by all partners and stakeholders to address issues at Seychelles’ ports.

Thursday 26^th October 2013, the Minister for Home Affairs and Transport, Mr. Joel Morgan, the Minister for Natural Resources and Industry, Mr. Peter Sinon and the Minister for Labour and Human Resource Development, Ms Idith Alexander today conducted a joint Ministerial visit at the Commercial and Fishing Ports.

The visit was a joint initiative so the Ministers could better understand the functions of the ports and also to address certain concerns which had been brought to Minister Sinon and Minister Alexander’s attention.

The Ministers and their delegation were greeted by the Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles Ports Authority, Captain Andre Ciseau and the Chairman of the Seychelles Ports Authority, Mr. Conrad Benoiton.

After a short presentation, in which Captain Ciseau gave an overview of the roles, objectives and future plans of the Seychelles Ports Authority, the ministerial delegations and representatives from the various shipping and handling agencies operating in Port Victoria were taken on a guided tour of the various operations undertaken at the Commercial Port. This included among others, the loading of tuna fish into storage containers and warehouse facilities.

The second part of the visit was conducted at the Fishing Port where the delegations had the chance to board a tuna fishing vessel and witness firsthand an unloading of the fish into containers for exportation.

The Ministers availed of the opportunity to speak to the employees working at the ports to see whether they are satisfied with their working conditions. Some workers expressed concerns in regards to their salaries.

The visit concluded in a debriefing session at the Seychelles Fishing Authority’s conference centre after a brief stopover with the Indian Ocean Tuna Limited Company’s management team.

During the debriefing, Minister Joel Morgan informed that with the increased level of development and competition which exists between ports in the Indian Ocean region, the Seychelles Ports Authority has put forward proposals to expand the size of the different Ports.

‘’I give you my assurance that the government is in the process of looking for financing for the developments of the ports’’ said Minister Morgan. He stressed that this will require studies to assess the feasibility of the expansion proposals.

For his part, Minister Peter Sinon stated that he was very impressed with the level of development that has taken place on the Ports and at the way in which dock workers can maneuver heavy machinery in such a small space. Stressing on the necessity for a close collaboration, Minister Sinon added:

‘’If all the Ministries and agencies work together, we can achieve so much more and become the most competitive and preferable Port in the region”. He also put much emphasis on the need to find the best conditions so as to attract the youth into working on the ports and on commercial fishing boats.

For her part Minister Alexander noted that with the developments to modernize the Ports, new posts will be created thus leading to an increase in the demand for labour. She informed the different organizations present that her Ministry will work with them to assess their needs in terms of the personnel and skills needed for the new posts that will be created.

“It is important therefore to have a good Human Resource Plan in order to provide training for suitable new staff” said Minister Alexander.

On the subject of the issues brought up by workers during the visit, Minister Alexander confirmed that officials from her Ministry will conduct follow up visits to discuss them further and find plausible solutions.

The representatives of the agencies present also put forward certain queries which the Ministers addressed. This included questions about the impending increase in port fees about to come in to force next month and for which Minister Morgan gave the raison d’être.

All three Ministers expressed their gratitude towards all who participated and helped realize the fruitful working visit.

In line with her Ministry’s aim of promoting a stronger partnership with the private sector, which presently employs approximately 70% of the working population in the Seychelles, this morning the Minister for Labour and Human Resource Development, Ms Idith Alexander, conducted a Ministerial visit at the Eden Island Development Company (Seychelles) Limited and the Village Management Association.

Accompanying the Minister for the two part visit were high officials from her Ministry. For the first part of the visit, the Ministerial delegation were greeted by the Chief Executive Officer of the Eden Island Development Company (Seychelles) Limited, Mrs Eke Walker.

The delegation was then given a guided tour of the Administrative and Landscape Departments by the Human Resource Manager, Mrs Ramona Hoareau. The majority of staff the Minister interacted with during the visit informed her that they were pleased with their working conditions.

During the visit, it was also noted that a number of the staff are graduates of the Seychelles Institute of Technology and the Seychelles Agricultural and Horticultural Training Centre, many of whom carried out their work attachment with the company and some are occupying supervisory or middle management positions.

At the end of the visit, the discussion centered mostly on training. “It is good to see that you are offering training for your staff, particularly in the financial sector where there is a shortage of qualified labour” said the Minister. The concept of flexible working hours was also discussed and the company has agreed to explore the possibility of introducing the same.

The Chairman of the Board for Eden Island Development Company (Seychelles) Limited, Mr Craig Heeger, commented that “We encourage our staff to acquire not only experience but also qualifications during their employment with the company.” Mr Heeger added that he is prepared to work with the Ministry for guidance and support on providing further studies for their staff.

The second part of the visit was with the Village Management Association which is also located at Eden Island. Here the delegation was greeted by the Human Resource Manager, Mrs Juanita Kroeger who then conducted them on a guided tour of the premises.

A number of staff encountered raised a few concerns. Minister Alexander highlighted these points during the debriefing sessions and the management staff ensured the Minister that they are ready to work with their staff to address these issues. “Good communication is key to ensuring a good working relationship,” added the Minister.

The Estate Manager, Mr Gerald Plots, thanked the Minister for her visit and added that he is looking forward to working with her Ministry in the near future.

A tripartite delegation from Seychelles headed by the Minister for Labour and Human Resource Development, Ms Idith Alexander is presently attending the 102^nd session of the International Labour Conference, being held in Geneva, Switzerland from 5^th to 20^th June 2013.

The ILO Conference is this year discussing the effects of global challenges on the world of work, notably the new demographic context and sustainable development. The Conference is also discussing the importance for the tripartite constituents, being the Government, employers and workers organizations to be continuously engaged in creating decent work, thereby overcoming the emerging challenges and supporting the ILO centenary initiatives.

In her address to the Conference on 12^th June 2013, Minister Alexander called on all stakeholders to join together for decent work. The Minister placed emphasis on the impact of demographic trends and climate change on employment and the labour market, which have been recognized as a global challenge. (See extract of the Minister’s speech below).

Minister Alexander also paid a courtesy call on the new Director General of the ILO, Mr Guy Ryder to express her appreciation of the ILO’s support to the Seychelles, notably in the implementation of the Seychelles decent work country programme. It was noted that the priorities and interests of the Ministry relate with those of the ILO. The issues of youth employment, migrant workers, the blue economy and green economy were also discussed. The Director General stated that the progress and achievements of Seychelles ‘are very encouraging in terms of cooperation between the Seychelles and the ILO.’

The Minister also seized this moment to request technical assistance in respect of labour market statistics and information system, given the importance of quality statistics to guide her Ministry in decision making and policy intervention. Minister Alexander also met with the new ILO Deputy Director General for Fields Operations and Partnerships, Mr Gilbert Foussoun Houngbo.

The other members of the Seychelles delegation attending the ILO Conference are Ms Veronique Bresson, Principal Secretary for Labour and Human Resource Development, Ms Susan Morel, Director Policy Planning and Research, Mr Antoine Robinson representing the Seychelles Federation of Workers’ Union and Mrs Michelle Labrosse representing the Association of Seychelles Employers.

Below are the extracts of the Minister’s speech:

• Minister Alexander reiterated Seychelles commitment “to invest in its people and in ensuring quality working life and equal opportunities for all.”
  
  
• In doing so, the Minister recognizes that “the effects of globalization, notably the recent world crisis have been a wake-up call on the vulnerability of the employment sector against financial and environmental shocks.”

• The Minister acknowledged that the items on this year’s Conference agenda, notably the demographic trends and climate change, “represent a challenge for the labour market across the world, including the Seychelles.” She stated that national records indicate that the population of Seychelles is slowly ageing and this will have an impact on the labour supply and demands. She emphasized on the strong advocacy of the Government of Seychelles “for sustainable development to guarantee the future existence of our nation, which is being threatened by the impact of climate change.” She added that “whilst these are challenging tasks, the Government remains determined in protecting workers, our environment, our economy and our future, based on the foundations of decent work.”

• Furthermore, the Minister expressed its appreciation to the Director General of the ILO, Mr Guy Ryder, for his support to the Seychelles towards the implementation of the Decent Work Country Programme, signed with the ILO in November 2011. The Minister reaffirmed that “the ongoing review of our National Employment Policy [under the Programme] is focused on linking capacity building with the demands of the labour market and is opportune for us to agree on strategic responses to act and react to the needs of labour and businesses, whilst supporting the ILO’s efforts in achieving its centenary initiatives.”

• Minister Alexander was “delighted to notethat the [ILO] centenary initiatives reflect the plan of my Ministry and new approaches undertaken in the past year.” Namely, “we have decentralized employment services to move closer to jobseekers, with the view to facilitate their access to employment or enrolment on employment training schemes. We have also recently established a Forum comprising of key Human Resources stakeholders, to enhance public-private sector partnership, thus enabling joint collaboration in national human resource development.”

• To that effect, the Minister stated that employment and decent work is a concern for all economic sectors and stakeholders – “each and everyone of us needs to leave its landmark in fostering decent work.”

• She urged all stakeholders and partners to be “ready to take on the opportunities that are presented to us” amidst these challenging times. “The opportunity to innovate our methods of work, so that they promptly adapt to the changing needs of the labour market; the opportunity to analyze the developments of other economic sectors, so that employment is mainstreamed in sectoral objectives; the opportunity for us, constituents to collaborate on common grounds, so that our strategies converge and decent work is further permeated in the lives of our fellow citizens.”

• In concluding, the Minister called on tripartite constituents and stakeholders to “join together for decent work, in order to secure a stronghold in our policy objectives and future achievements.”

In line with her Ministry’s plans to visit different work organizations, on Friday 21st June 2013, the Minister for Labour and Human Resource Development, Ms Idith Alexander accompanied by high officials from her Ministry visited EZY Garage at Plaisance and Stone Mill Bakery at Providence.

The Ministerial delegation was greeted by the Managing Director, Mr Danny Monthy at the EZY Garage, who then took them on a guided tour of the garage. During the visit, Minister Alexander had the opportunity to speak and interact with each of the ten employees currently employed at the garage. Overall, they all related that they were very happy with their working conditions.

Minister Alexander commended Mr Monthy on his good work in recruiting youths and providing them with training. During the debriefing, Mr Monthy discussed the difficulties that he is encountering in finding qualified personnel on the labour market.

The meeting concluded with both parties pledging their commitment to work together in the future, with the Ministry giving the support to assist with qualified personnel and Mr. Monthy taking on board youths on the Skills Development Schemes offered by the Ministry.

For the second visit, the Ministerial delegation went to the Stone Mill Bakery located at providence. Here they were welcomed by the production Manager, Mr. Peter Black who provided them with a tour of the different operations conducted at the bakery.

Minister Alexander took the time to speak to the staff and was very pleased to learn that the concerns that were previously raised by the staff to the Ministry had been taken care of and that the employees were now satisfied with their work arrangements.

Mr Black, who is a foreign investor with many years of experience as a baker has a workforce that is 100% Seychellois. He is ready to the provide training to the youths on one of the Schemes provided by the Ministry with the possibility of employing them after they have completed their training.

At the end of the visit, Minister Alexander emphasized the important role that the private sector plays in our economy and looks forward to more collaboration in future.

Mr. Black thanked the Minister for her visit and affirmed that his company is ready to assist her Ministry where possible.

On Friday 22^nd February 2013, the Minister for Labour and Human Resource Development, Ms Idith Alexander, launched the first of a series of visits to various workplaces planned for this year. To mark this occasion, the Minister opted for another first by visiting two establishments located on Praslin, namely the Raffles Hotel and the Seychelles Petroleum Praslin Depot on Eve Island.

The aims of the visits remain the same, for her Ministry to familiarize itself with the workings of the private sector while at the same time building and maintaining a strong relationship by ensuring that the Employment laws of the Seychelles are being observed.

Minister Alexander, accompanied by several high officials from her Ministry, visited the Raffles Hotel first where they were greeted by the Director for Human Resources, Mr Walter Borosa and the Assistant Human Resources Manager, Mr Abhishek Anand. The Ministerial delegation was taken on a guided tour of the different Departments at the resort.

During her visit, she had the opportunity to speak to a trainee on the Skills Acquisition Program, which is one of the programs offered by the Ministry, who is performing above the required standard according to Mr Borosa and will be employed by the hotel at the end of her training in mid March.

A number of staff raised the issues of lack of manpower, working hours, overtime payment, favouritism on the part of the foreign workers and equal opportunities for career advancement for the Seychellois staff. However, the majority of staff members who were present during our tour said that they were very happy with their current work conditions.

‘ I can see that you have a lot of great ideas to promote staff retention such as the staff day care facilities’ said the Minister to Mr Borosa and she encouraged him to continue to come up with new incentives.

At the end of her visit, the Minister spoke of the importance of ensuring that staff welfare is taken into consideration and that regular communication with the staff is a key factor in ensuring this. She also spoke of her Localization Plan which will be launched next month and is aimed at reducing the number of expatriates working in positions that can be occupied by Seychellois. Mr Borosa assured her that, with the Ministry’s assistance, he aims to reduce the staff ratio of foreigners to locals from 60/40 to 50/50 in 2013.

In line with concerns raised, the Minister advised him to take the necessary steps, as outlined in the Employment laws of the Seychelles, to remedy these problems and that the Ministry will provide regular visits to ensure that this is achieved. The Minister ended by urging the staff to work hard and be more productive while performing their duties.

Mr Borosa thanked the Minister and her officials for visiting the Resort and said that he is eager to work closely with the Ministry to find a way forward. He said he is open to co-operation with the NHRDC where staff training is concerned.

For the second visit, the Ministerial delegation went to the Seychelles Petroleum Company (SEPEC) Praslin Depot located on Eve Island. Here, they were welcomed by the Chief Executive Officer, Mr Conrad Benoiton and the Depot Superintendent, Mr Maurice Mancienne.

The visit began with a meeting in which Mr Benoiton said that SEPEC places a lot of emphasis on training whether they are conducted locally or overseas. He also stated that the training and retention of cadets is a problem and as such, they have had to revise their training plan.

The Minister informed Mr Benoiton that he can pool resources with the Ministry and the NHRDC to come up with solutions to these problems and that the involvement of the Maritime Training Centre would be very crucial.

Mr Benoiton and Mr Mancienne then provided a tour of the operations and the services offered by the Depot. Minister Alexander took the time to speak to the Depot staff to see what their concerns were. A few expressed that there should be more staff to help particularly with the operative side and the need for a raise in their salary.

The concerns of the staff were put forward by the Minister in the debriefing meeting. Mr Benoiton stated that they are having problems with recruiting new staff on Praslin, particularly Security Guards. The Minister assured Mr Benoiton that the Ministry will do all it can to assist him with the issue of recruitment. Minister Alexander pointed out that the government will increase salaries as of 1^st of July this year. Mr Benoiton explained that SEPEC is prepared to raise their staff salaries based in the increment introduced by the government.

Mr Benoiton on his part thanked the Ministerial delegation for coming to visit the Depot and said that he looked forward to having a long and productive relationship with the Ministry.

END

Editor’s Note

The Praslin Depot, which was officially opened on 31^st March 2010, is made up of a fuel depot consisting of four fuels tanks, capacities 950 cubic metres, 750 cubic metres, 550 cubic metres, 100 cubic metres, one truck loading gantry, a gasoil pipeline from depot to three bunker points on new Quay on Eve Island and PUC power station and one LPG depot consisting of four above ground tanks of capacities 2 x 50 cubic metres and 2 x 45 cubic metres with a cylinder filling plant and a truck loading point. The Depot employs 19 workers including 5 security guards and is equipped with fire fighting facilities as per NFPA requirement with a sea water backup system.