In a bid to prohibit the deferment of payment and the reduction of wages of a worker without the approval of a competent officer, the department of employment has proposed a new bill which will be presented before the National Assembly for approval next week.

Minister for Employment, Immigration and Civil Status Myriam Telemaque made the announcement yesterday during a press conference to give updates on the latest measures and procedures that will be carried out amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also present were the principal secretary for employment Jules Baker, along with Attorney General Frank Ally who gave the technical aspects of the proposed bill which was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday.

The bill or amendment also seeks to suspend the right of an employer to initiate negotiation procedure for the purpose of sections 48 and 51 of the existing Employment Act until June 30 2020, except in relation to a non-Seychellois worker.

The Employment (Amendment) Act states that an employer shall not, whether with agreement of the worker or otherwise defer the payment of wages, whether partly or otherwise, of a worker, or reduce the wages of a worker, without first initiating and complying with the negotiation procedure.

It also states that where consequent to the negotiation procedure, the competent officer will determine whether the payment of the wages may be deferred or reduced, or not.

The Amended Act further states that, in making a determination, the competent officer shall take into account all the relevant matters, while any negotiation procedure initiated or applied for prior to March 20, 2020 shall remain valid.

In the case the suspension of negotiation procedure is required to be extended beyond the period of June 30 2020, the minister responsible for employment may extend the period to a date as may be specified in the order.

Also at yesterday’s press conference, it was announced that the ‘Special Leave’ for parents with children under 15 years old which has been in place since March 16 will end on May 18 which is the scheduled date for the resumption of primary and secondary schools in the country.

The ‘Special Leave’ was put in place for workers with children under the age of 15 who attend relevant educational institutions which have since March 16 closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

It permits certain categories of workers, including parents (father, mother or guardian with whom the child or children reside) with children enrolled in schools, workers on quarantine or in isolation as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in accordance with the directive of the health authorities, as well as workers whose work organisations are temporarily, partially or wholly closed during the pandemic, to seek special leave from their employers, starting from March 16, until the situation is normalised and school institutions resume their operations.

Still yesterday, Minister Telemaque also announced that as from July 1, 2020, the government will not guarantee the salaries of expatriate workers, while no new gainful occupation permit (GOP) will be approved.

She explained that the measure is to encourage businesses to make use of the local workforce, which she said has the ability to deliver as much as the expats, while asking employers to make a thorough assessment on if their businesses really need a foreign workforce.

Minister Telemaque, however, noted that in exceptional cases where specific tasks which require specialised workforce are needed, special considerations will be taken regarding GOP.

Roland Duval