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Seychelles - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Victoria      

 

CLIMATE

Tropical marine climate; humid, with a cooler season during southeast monsoon (late May to September), and a warmer season during the northwest monsoon (March to May).

 

LANGUAGES

English (official), French (official), and Creole.

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Seychelles’ legal system is based on English common law, French civil law, and customary law.

 

CURRENCY

Seychelles Rupee (1 USD = 6.06310 SCR as of May 15, 2002).

 

SEYCHELLES - COST-OF-LIVING

ERI's Relocation Assessor is a recommended source for cost-of-living data.

 

SEYCHELLES - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

The US does not have an embassy in Seychelles. The ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to Seychelles.

 

U.S. Embassy at Port Louis (Mauritius)

Rogers House (4th Floor.)

John Kennedy Street

P.O. Box 544

Port Louis, Mauritius

Telephone: [230] 208-2347

Fax: [230] 208-9534

http://usembassymauritius.mu/

 

Permanent Mission of Seychelles to the U.N.

820 Second Avenue, Suite 400C

New York, NY 10017

Telephone: (212) 972-1785

Fax: (212) 972-1786

 

SEYCHELLES - HOLIDAYS

 

SEYCHELLES - LEAVE

Annual Leave: Minimum 30 days paid annual leave.

 

Maternity Leave: 14 weeks – paid a flat rate for 10 weeks (paid by social security).

 

SEYCHELLES - MINIMUM AGE

The Constitution states that the minimum age for employment is 15, "subject to exceptions for children who are employed part time in light work prescribed by law without harm to their health, morals, or education."

 

(Section 6.d. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Seychelles – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

SEYCHELLES - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The official minimum wage is SR 2,225 per month (approximately $427).

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Seychelles – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

SEYCHELLES - REMUNERATION

ERI's Geographic and Salary Assessors are recommended sources for international remuneration covering 189 countries.

 

SEYCHELLES - REPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES (2001, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE)

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The law provides workers with the right to form and join unions of their choosing; however, police, military, prison, and fire-fighting personnel may not unionize. Between 15 and 20 percent of the workforce is unionized.

 

There are two trade union organizations: One dominated by the SPPF, the Seychelles Federation of Workers Union (SFWU), and one independent federation, the Seychelles Workers Union (SWU).

 

Strikes are illegal; however, a strike may be allowed if written permission or approval from the Commissioner of Police is obtained. The last recorded strike occurred in the early 1960's.

 

Unions may affiliate freely with international bodies; the SFWU is a member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

 

In August the opposition party protested to the Electoral Commissioner that a parastatal company was requiring employees to attend a government-sponsored political rally for the presidential elections. The opposition party reported that employees who did not attend the rally risked losing their year-end bonuses (see Section 3).

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The law provides workers with the right to engage in collective bargaining; however, in practice free collective bargaining did not take place. The Government has the right to review and approve all collective bargaining agreements in the public and private sectors. There was little flexibility in setting wages. In the public sector, which employs 57 percent of the labor force, the Government sets mandatory wage scales for employees. Wages in the private sector generally are set by the employer in individual agreements with the employee, but in the few larger businesses, wage scales are subject to the Government's right of review and approval. Private employers historically have paid higher wages than the Government in order to attract qualified workers. However, economic problems during the year led to continued downward pressures on wages.

 

The law authorizes the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs to establish and enforce employment terms, conditions, and benefits. Workers frequently have obtained recourse against their employers through the Ministry.

 

The law prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers against union members.

 

There are 24 companies that participate in an export processing zone known as the Seychelles International Trade Zone (SITZ). The SITZ is bound only by the Seychelles Trade Zone Act and is not obliged to adhere to labor, property, tax, business, or immigration laws. In 1999 one of the companies based in the SITZ, Indian Ocean Tuna (IOT), discharged workers who had come from Madagascar. IOT claimed that the workers were engaging in prostitution, and they were returned to Madagascar. The workers alleged that they were being mistreated and were not receiving their salaries.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, and there were no reports that such practices occurred.

 

The Government prohibits forced and bonded labor by children, and there were no reports that such practices occur.

 

d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment

 

The Constitution states that the minimum age for employment is 15, "subject to exceptions for children who are employed part time in light work prescribed by law without harm to their health, morals, or education." It is a criminal offense punishable by a fine of $1,130 (SR 6,000) to employ a child under the age of 15. The Ministry of Employment and Social Services is responsible for enforcing child labor laws and investigating abuses of child labor. The Ministry handled such complaints within its general budget and staffing; no cases that required investigation were reported by year's end.

 

The Government prohibits forced and bonded labor by children, and such practices are not known to occur.

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The complicated minimum wage scale is regulated administratively by the Government; it covers the public and state-owned sectors and differentiates among various job classifications. The Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs enforces minimum wage regulations. The official minimum wage is $427 (SR 2,225) per month. Trade unions contend that government entities pay some workers less than the legal minimum wage. Even with the free public services that are available, primarily health care and education, independent labor unions dispute that a single salary at the low end of the pay scale provides a decent standard of living for a worker and family.

 

The legal maximum workweek varied from 45 to 52 hours, depending on the economic sector, while government employees worked fewer hours. Each full-time worker is entitled to a 30-minute break per day and a minimum of 21 days of paid annual leave. Workers are permitted to work overtime up to 60 additional hours per month. The Government generally enforced these regulations. Foreign workers do not enjoy the same legal protections.

 

In recent years, there has been a growing trend to admit foreign workers, primarily from China, India, the Philippines, and Madagascar, to work in the construction and commercial fishing sectors, because few citizens choose to work in these sectors. Although it is difficult to determine the living and working conditions of these workers, there was evidence that the labor laws were flouted routinely with the Government's knowledge and acquiescence. These workers were paid lower wages and forced to work longer hours than citizens.

 

In January several Kenyan teachers who had been recruited to teach in the country returned to Kenya complaining of poor working conditions and their inability to obtain foreign exchange to repatriate their earnings. In July 25 Filipinos who worked at a prawn farm owned by a parastatal company published a notice in the opposition newspaper protesting their working conditions. They stated that they were being forced to work 260 hours per month with only 4 days off, that they only received $423 (SR 2,200) per month in wages (including overtime), and that they did not receive the complete housing and foreign exchange benefits they were promised. The workers claimed that meetings with the farm's managers did not resolve the issues and that the Ministry of Employment refused to acknowledge their grievances. In August 16 of the workers were fired as a result of their protests and were told to leave the country immediately.

 

The Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs has formal responsibility for enforcing the Government's comprehensive occupational health and safety regulations; however, the Ministry of Health also seeks a role in this area. An ILO team, which visited in 1995, found serious deficiencies in the management and effectiveness of government monitoring and enforcement efforts. Occupational injuries are most common in the construction, marine, and port industries. A worker who removes himself from a potentially dangerous situation on the job is considered to have resigned. Safety and health inspectors rarely visit job sites. Unlike in the previous year, there were no work-related deaths during the year. Workers do not have the right to remove themselves from dangerous or unhealthy work situations without risking their continued employment.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

The law prohibits trafficking in persons, and there were no reports that persons were trafficked to, from, or within the country.

 

SEYCHELLES - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

http://www.ssa.gov/SSA_Home.html

 

SEYCHELLES - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The legal maximum workweek varied from 45 to 52 hours, depending on the economic sector, while government employees worked fewer hours. Each full-time worker is entitled to a 30-minute break per day and a minimum of 21 days of paid annual leave. Workers are permitted to work overtime up to 60 additional hours per month.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Seychelles – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)