Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2005, publiée 95ème session CIT (2006)

1. Article 1(c) and (d) of the Convention. Disciplinary measures applicable to seafarers. The Committee previously noted that, under sections 183(1) and 184(1) of the Merchant Shipping Act of 1986, certain breaches of discipline by seafarers (such as desertion, neglect or refusal to join the ship, absence without leave, neglect of duty) are punishable by imprisonment (involving an obligation to perform labour), and that under section 183(1), (3) and (4), seafarers who are not citizens of Mauritius, and who commit such offences, may be forcibly conveyed on board ship for the purpose of proceeding to sea. Referring to paragraphs 110 to 125 of its General Survey of 1979 on the abolition of forced labour, the Committee recalled that, in order to be compatible with the Convention, the provisions mentioned above should be restricted to punishing breaches of labour discipline that endanger the safety of the ship, or the life or health of persons on board.

In its previous observation, the Committee noted the Government’s indications that it had undertaken to amend the Merchant Shipping Act and, in particular, sections 183 and 184, with the assistance of the International Maritime Organization, with a view to removing the possibility of having recourse to compulsory labour, in order to make the Act compatible with the Convention. The Committee notes that, in its latest report, the Government indicates that the Shipping Division of the Ministry of Shipping, Rodrigues and the Outer Islands, has submitted the Draft Merchant Shipping Bill to the State Law Office for vetting, and that necessary amendments to sections 183 and 184 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1986 are included in the Bill, in line with the requirements of the Convention, and that the Bill will be presented in Parliament for enactment in due course. The Committee reiterates its hope that the Merchant Shipping Act will be brought into conformity with the Convention in the near future, and that the Government will soon be able to indicate further progress achieved in this regard.

2. Article 1(d). Sanctions for participation in strikes. For many years in its comments, the Committee has observed that, under sections 82 and 83 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1973, submission of any industrial dispute to compulsory arbitration is left to the discretion of the Minister. The decision handed down following this procedure is enforceable (section 85) and any strike becomes unlawful (section 92). Finally, participation in a strike thus prohibited may be punished by imprisonment (section 102) involving compulsory labour by virtue of section 35(1)(a) of the Reform Institutions Act. The Committee observed that these provisions are incompatible with Article 1(d) of the Convention. It pointed out that, for provisions regarding compulsory arbitration, enforceable with sanctions involving compulsory labour, to be compatible with the Convention, their scope should be limited to essential services in the strict meaning of the term (namely those the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population).

In its previous observation, the Committee noted the Government’s indications that it had undertaken to review the Industrial Relations Act; that to this effect a decision had been taken to set up a tripartite committee; and that, in the meantime, a technical committee chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Industrial Relations was considering amendments to be brought to the Act. The Committee notes the Government’s indications in its latest report that new draft legislation, the Employment and Labour Relations Bill, has been prepared and was presented for first reading in the National Assembly on 9 April 2005, but that following concerns and objections of both employers’ and workers’ organizations to some clauses of the Bill, the Cabinet of Ministers decided that certain portions of the Bill should be revisited and that the draft legislation would be introduced in the National Assembly after the general elections in July 2005. The Committee notes from the Government’s internet portal that, as of October 2005, the Bill has not been reintroduced in the National Assembly.

The Committee once again expresses the firm hope that the Industrial Relations Act will be amended in the near future and that the legislation will be brought into conformity with the Convention on this point. It asks the Government to provide, in its next report, information on further progress made in this regard.