Republic of Mauritius- Pre-Budget 2020-2021 consultations: Meeting with Trade Unions

The
Minister
of Labour, Human Resource Development and
Training, Mr Soodesh Callichurn, was also
present at this meeting which aims to initiate a social
dialogue between the main stakeholders to ensure better planning of the next
budget to be presented at the
National Assembly on 04 June 2020.

Trade Unions present at
the consultative meeting were: Confederation
of Free Trade Unions; Confederation of Independent Trade Unions; Confédération des Travailleurs du Secteurs
Publique Et Prives; General Trade Union Confederation; Mauritius Labour
Congress; Mauritius Trade Union Congress; Trade Union Consultative Congress; All
Employees Confederation; and Confederation Syndicale De Gauche-Solidarite.

The trade union
representatives made several proposals in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic
and expressed their hopes to overcome this crisis which has had an adverse
effect on several sectors. Their proposals focused on economy, agriculture, health, and tourism.

Main recommendations

The
main proposals include: setting fixed prices for other basic food and commodities;
subsidising the purchase of pesticides for small farmers; setting up of a Parastatal Body Service Commission
to combat corruption, ensuring better conditions for employees of the informal sector; and retirement at the age of 60 to
provide more job opportunities for young people.

In addition, the trade
unions representatives
expressed their opposition as regards the
privatisation of institutions such as the Food and Agricultural Research and
Extension Institute and the Agricultural Marketing Board, and called for the provision of a minimum grant for those employees who lost their jobs during this period. A revision of the
flat-rate income tax formula was also
recommended.

In
an effort to ensure more safety, they appealed for the strengthening of protection for all employees following
the
enactment of the Covid-19 (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020. In relation to
the tourism sector, they
also recommended that a Sanitary Visa be
introduced for all tourists visiting Mauritius so as to increase protection with the reopening of frontiers.

#ResOuLakaz     #BeSafeMoris