Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151) - Seychelles (Ratification: 1999)

The Committee notes the observations of the Association of Seychelles Employers (ASE) – Seychelles Chamber of Commerce (SCCI) communicated with the Government’s report.

Article 7 of the Convention. Negotiation of terms and conditions of employment. In its previous comment, the Committee requested the Government to increase its efforts in promoting collective bargaining as the main means of determining the terms and conditions of employment in the public service. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that a workshop on the importance and the benefits of collective agreements was conducted in September 2019 by the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs and the ILO.

The Committee further notes that the Government indicates that: (i) no collective agreements have been reached during the reporting period; (ii) decisions pertaining to terms and conditions of employment in the public service were made unilaterally by the Government in compliance with set standards of parity and transparency for public employees in the executive branch; and (iii) workers’ organisations have been involved in discussions and negotiations when there were grievances from their members. The Committee notes these elements. Recalling that pursuant to Article 7 of the Convention, terms and conditions of public employees may be determined either through the principle of negotiation between authorities concerned and public employees’ organizations, or through other methods, such as consultation, the Committee highlights that the interactions between the public authorities and the public employees’ organizations cannot be limited to the sole examination of specific grievances. Noting the Government’s indication that decisions pertaining to terms and conditions of employment in the public service are adopted unilaterally, the Committee requests the Government to take, after consultation with the representative organizations concerned, the necessary legislative and regulatory measures to guarantee the participation of public employees in the determination of their terms and conditions of employment. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress in this regard and recalls that it may avail itself of the assistance of the Office.