Fonction publique : les congés maladie les samedis désormais considérés «half-day sick» pour certains

Les congés maladie pris par des employés de la Fonction publique travaillant sur une base de six jours par semaine et qui sont censés travailler un maximum de quatre heures les samedis seront désormais considérés comme « half-day sick ».

C’est l’une des recommandations faites par l’Addendum Report 2016 du rapport du Pay Research Bureau (PRB). Le Conseil des ministres a approuvé vendredi 14 octobre ces recommandations « in toto » avec effet rétroactif à compter du 1er janvier 2016.

Les congés maladie pour cette catégorie d’employés étaient jusque-là considérés comme « full day sick leave ».

Fusion d’organismes parapublics : exit State Development Co Ltd enter Landscope (Mauritius).

Le Conseil des ministres a donné son aval vendredi 14 octobre à la fusion des corps parapublics suivants : State Property Development Co Ltd, the Business Parks of Mauritius Ltd, the Tourist Villages Co Ltd and Les Pailles International Conference Centre Ltd.

Ces organismes tomberont sous la State Land Development Co Ltd, qui du coup changera bientôt de nom pour être connue comme Landscope (Mauritius). Celle-ci sera opérationnelle vers la fin de novembre 2016.

Le communiqué du Conseil des ministres précise que la nouvelle compagnie [Landscope (Mauritius] conservera le poste de tous les employés des organismes concernés par cette fusion, de même que leurs subsidiaires.

Cette fusion fait partie du programme de réforme dans le secteur public comme annoncé dans le Budget 2016-17.

Metro Express

Le Conseil des ministres a aussi donné son aval pour la mise sur pied d’une Metro Express Ltd, qui pilotera le projet Metro Express. Ce projet sera en partie financé par le « grant » accordé par le gouvernement indien à l’île Maurice.

Nandanee Soornack

Le Conseil des ministres a pris note de l’appel interjeté jeudi 13 octobre par l’État mauricien contre le jugement du tribunal de Bologne. Cette instance avait rejeté la demande des autorités mauriciennes pour l’extradition de la femme d’affaires Nandanee Soornack qui se trouve en Italie depuis décembre 2014.

L’intégralité du communiqué du Conseil des ministres et les décisions prises vendredi 14 octobre :

1. Cabinet has taken note, with pride, of the elevation of Archbishop Maurice E. Piat, GOSK, to Cardinal, and agreed to the setting up of a Ministerial Committee under the Chairmanship of the Hon C. Gaëtan Xavier-Luc Duval, GCSK, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism and External Communications, to liaise with the Roman Catholic Church in order to ensure that necessary arrangements in connection with the elevation scheduled for November 2016 in Rome, are made correctly.
2. Cabinet has taken note of the recommendations contained in the Addendum Report 2016 of the Pay Research Bureau, and agreed to the implementation of the recommendations in toto. The recommendations would take effect as from 1 January 2016. The salient recommendations of the Report are –
   (a) Absence on account of sickness on a Saturday should be reckoned as half-day sick leave for employees working on a six-day week basis and scheduled to work up to a maximum of four hours on a Saturday. At present, such absences are reckoned as a full day sick leave
   (b) In case of the demise of an officer holding a substantive appointment, the balance of vacation leave standing to his credit should be refunded to the heirs at the rate of 1/30 of the last monthly salary per day. At present, any balance of vacation leave lapses on the demise of an officer.
   (c) The Standing Committee under the chairmanship of the Ministry of Civil Service and Administrative Reforms, should devise such regulations or principles as may be necessary, to deal with the award of Higher Qualification Incentive, as well as the smooth transition from the grant of Incremental Credit for Additional Qualifications to Higher Qualification Incentive.
   (d) The quantum of various allowances has been revised up to 5%. In the event the quantum of allowances payable to eligible officers is lower than that drawn as at 31 December 2015, they should continue to be paid the higher quantum on a personal basis.
   (e) As regards flexible hours of Attendance, the Ministry of Civil Service and Administrative Reforms should conduct a survey to gauge the extent to which the recommendation regarding offset of lateness in the morning has been implemented.
   (f) The Ministry of Health and Quality of Life should, without delay, effect the payment of travelling allowance to eligible Trainee Nurse (formerly Student Nurse).
   The Report would be made public.
3. Cabinet has taken note of the status in the implementation of the Metro Express Project, and agreed to the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle, to be known as the Metro Express Ltd, to implement and manage the project. The project would partly be financed by the grant extended to Mauritius by the Government of India.
4. Cabinet has agreed to Mauritius making a contribution of US$ 200,000 (i.e. Rs7.3 million) to Haiti for reconstruction works following widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Matthew that recently hit the country.
5. Cabinet has agreed to the Central Water Authority (CWA) being temporarily authorised to abstract water from the Irrigation Authority’s network to serve inhabitants of some regions in the North, i.e., Pointe aux Cannoniers, Sottise, Grand Baie, Pereybère, Mare Ronde, Mare Sèche and Cap Malheureux, who are currently facing acute water shortage problems. The CWA will, however, ensure that the share of the irrigation water supplied to the Irrigation Authority is maintained.
6. Cabinet has agreed to, in the first instance, the amalgamation of the State Property Development Co Ltd, the Business Parks of Mauritius Ltd, the Tourist Villages Co Ltd and Les Pailles International Conference Centre Ltd with the State Land Development Co Ltd, as part of a major public sector reform programme as announced in Budget Speech 2016/2017. The name of the State Land Development Co Ltd would, subsequently, be changed to Landscope (Mauritius) Ltd. The new company, which would become operational by the end of November 2016, would retain the employment of all employees of the concerned companies, as well as their subsidiaries, i.e., there will be no redundancy.
7. Cabinet has taken note of the status of the implementation of projects in the context of the establishment of Mauritius as a Petroleum Hub, as well as the construction of the oil storage terminal at Mer Rouge which is expected to be completed in May 2017.
8. Cabinet has taken note that Divali would be celebrated at national level on 27 October 2016 at St Pierre Traffic Centre with the participation of Bollywood artists of international repute, and local artists.
9. Cabinet has taken note of the activities that would be organised on the occasion of the 182nd Anniversary of the Arrival of Indentured Labourers, commemorated on 2 November. The Official Ceremony would comprise a wreath-laying ceremony, cultural performances, launching of a coffee table book, and an exhibition.
10. Cabinet has taken note that, according to the last monthly report published by the Statistics Unit of the Ministry of Tourism and External Communications, 91,384 tourists visited Mauritius in September 2016 as compared to 84,456 in September 2015, i.e., an increase of 8.2%.  For the period January to September 2016, tourist arrivals reached 880,890 as compared to 803,353 during the same period in 2015. Growth had been registered in arrivals from Germany (+40.3%), United Kingdom (+5.0%), France (+9.1%), India (+11.8%), South Africa (+3.7%) and Reunion Island (+3.4%).
11. Cabinet has taken note that, in the case of extradition procedures of Mrs Nandanee Soornack, an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Bologna had, on 13 October 2016, been duly filed.
12. Cabinet has taken note that the Minister of Public Infrastructure and Land Transport represented the Prime Minister at the official celebrations of the 50th Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Botswana. The theme of the celebrations was “Unity and Diversity”. The local National Organising Committee would be inspired by the activities to make the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Accession to the status of Republic in 2017, and the 50th Anniversary of Independence in 2018, a memorable and unique event.
13. Cabinet has taken note of the findings of the Mauritius Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Study (2013-2016). The main objective of the Study was to evaluate the efficacy of intensive diet and physical activity management in preventing or delaying the development of type 2 diabetes in adult Mauritian population aged 30 to 74 years with pre-diabetes condition. Some 1,000 participants divided in groups were surveyed. The prevalence of diabetes among adults aged 30-74 years was 22.8% in 2015. The survey has revealed that through the adoption of healthy lifestyle with healthy diet and physical activity, the incidence of diabetes lowered to 12.7%.  The incidence of hypertension also decreased from 29.9% to 26.8%.
14. Cabinet has taken note of the school calendar for the Primary and Secondary Education Sectors for the Academic Year 2017, which is as follows –

                                              Primary                                         Secondary

            1st Term         Monday 09 January                      Monday 09 January

                                   to Friday 07 April                           to Friday 07 April

            2nd Term       Monday 24 April                             Monday 24 April

                                  to Friday 14 July                             to Friday 14 July

            3rd Term        Monday 14 August                        Monday 07 August

                                  to Friday 03 November                  to Friday 27 October

Admission to Grade 1 and Grade 7 would be held on 09 January 2017.

14. Cabinet has taken note that, in the context of the celebration of the Campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA) Week 2016, the African Union Commission would hold a Conference in Mauritius in November 2016. The theme for the Week 2016 is “Celebrating progress in implementing CARMMA in the Island States:  No Woman Should Die while Giving Life”.  The main objectives of the Conference would be to –

(a) showcase and celebrate the success achieved in reducing maternal, newborn and child deaths by Island States and across the continent;
(b) launch the Maputo Plan of Action 2016-2030 and African Health Strategy 2016-2030;
(c) share experience on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Issues; and
(d) champion for the prioritisation of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and Sexual Reproductive Health Rights in the sustainable development period.

 Some 35 foreign delegates and 20 local participants would attend the Conference.

16. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent mission of the Minister of Social Security, National Solidarity and Reform Institutions to Nigeria where she participated in the World Pension Summit – Africa Special 2016.  The theme of the Summit was “Pension Innovations: The African Perspective”.  The Summit focused on key aspects of pension administration in Africa, highlighting innovative practices and how African countries can further develop synergies between pensions and insurance to further socio-economic development.

In the margins of the Summit, the Minister of Social Security, National Solidarity and Reform Institutions had meetings on pension issues, among others, with Mr Chris Battaglia, CEO, World Pension Summit and Vice-President/Group Publisher, Pensions and Investments, and Mr Ese Stephen Owie, D. Phil, Executive Director & CEO, Centre for International Trade & Policy. The Minister also met Mr Ibrahim Muhanna, Managing Director, Muhanna & Co and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Muhanna Foundation, who proposed to visit Mauritius to get an insight of the pension system in Mauritius with a view to assisting us in the Pension Reform Project.