Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Seychelles (Ratification: 1978)

In its previous comments, the Committee had requested the Government to provide information on any development concerning the review of the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) and, in particular, the amendment of its following provisions:

• -section 9(1)(b) and (f), which confers on the Registrar discretionary power to refuse registration;
• -section 52(1)(a)(iv), which provides that a strike has to be approved by two-thirds of union members present and voting at the meeting called for the purpose of considering the issue;
• -section 52(1)(b), which provides for a cooling-off period of 60 days before a strike may begin;
• -section 52(4), which allows the minister to declare a strike to be unlawful if he or she is of the opinion that its continuance would endanger, among other things, “public order or the national economy”; and
• -section 56(1), which imposes penalties of up to six months of imprisonment for organizing or participating in a strike declared unlawful on the basis of the IRA provisions.

The Committee welcomes the Government’s indication that consultations were held with the social partners and other key stakeholders on the proposed amendments to the IRA. In this respect, the Government indicates that it has proposed to amend section 52(1)(a)(iv) so as to reduce the majority required to declare a strike to a simple majority. The Committee notes with interest the proposed amendment and trusts that the provision in question will continue to ensure that account is taken only of the votes cast.

The Committee takes due note of the Government’s intention to reduce the length of the compulsory conciliation and mediation procedure to 30 days. In this respect, it further notes the Government’s indication that section 52(1)(a)(iii), and not section 52(1)(b), provides for the cooling-off period and sets it at 45 days. The Committee recalls in this respect that in so far as cooling-off periods are conceived as a stage designed to encourage the parties to engage in final negotiations before resorting to strike action, such provisions may be seen as measures taken to encourage and promote the development of voluntary bargaining, however, the cooling-off period should not be an additional obstacle to bargaining, and it should be shorter if it follows a compulsory prior mediation or conciliation procedure which itself is already lengthy (see 2012 General Survey on freedom of association and collective bargaining, paragraph 145). Noting the existence of a dispute settlement procedure before the cooling-off period, the Committee requests the Government to consider the length of the period provided for in section 52(1)(a)(iii) in consultation with the social partners with a view to shortening it. It requests the Government to provide information on the developments in this respect.

The Committee further notes the Government’s intention to restrict the situations where a strike can be declared unlawful by the minister under section 52(4) to cases of acute national crisis. In this regard, the Committee recalls that the responsibility for declaring a strike illegal should not lie with the government authorities, but with an independent body which has the confidence of the parties involved (see General Survey, op. cit., paragraph 157). Accordingly, the Committee requests the Government to amend section 52(4) so as to bring it into conformity with the Convention.

The Committee regrets that no information was provided on the measures to amend sections 9(1)(b) and 56(1) of the IRA. The Committee trusts that the review of the IRA will continue in consultation with the social partners and with the technical assistance of the ILO, and that sections 9(1)(b) and (f), 52(1)(a)(iv), 52(1)(b), 52(4), and 56(1) of the IRA will be amended taking into account the Committee’s comments. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the developments in this respect.