Rashid Imrith: “Minimum Living Wage should be the ultimate objective”

While we are focusing on the need to have a minimum wage in Mauritius, Rashid Imrith has laid stress on the importance on a Minimum Living Wage. He was addressing the 106th Session of the International Labour Conference, in Geneva. Below is an excerpt of his speech.

“The passing of the National Wage Consultative Council Act on 27 May 2016 and the subsequent establishment of the Council to determine the National Minimum Wage for Mauritius is a comforting step towards decent work.  Nevertheless, the minimum wage is not an end in itself. The word ‘living’ in the middle of ‘minimum’ and ‘wage’ making a meaningful difference, Minimum Living Wage should be the ultimate objective towards building a future with decent work.  Correction of disturbance of salary relativities to sustain a dynamic labour force or indirect salaries to prevent the collapse of vulnerable economic stakeholders should be addressed to uphold sustainable economic and social cohesion.  The existence of the Tripartite Committee to decide on salary compensation for rise in CPI should not be put at stake.

Collective Bargaining

I appeal for the International Labour Office to investigate into the violation of ILO Convention 98 of 1949 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining which has been ratified by Mauritius. Collective bargaining is regressing drastically in the Private Sector and is inexistent in the Public Sector.

Globalisation

The globalisation policy to drastically cut down the workforce in the Public Sector that puts a profitable price on the basic needs of the mass is a definite threat to social justice.  It has also become a threat to national security in Mauritius.  At the Ministry of Agro Industry and Food Security for example, inadequate staffing is preventing proper evaluation of pesticide and bacteria level in goods that are being consumed as food.   Hi-tech equipment costing millions of rupees cannot be operated to evaluate Genetically Modified Organisms in imported goods.  Ignoring the impact of contaminated food on the increasing death rate due to cancer will make of us murderers.  Bio Security and Bio terrorism are also becoming national hazards due to inadequate or inexistent control as a result of inadequate competent manpower.  I would say that giving a social touch to globalisation policies is the challenge to overcome a gigantic barrier against sustainable development and social justice.

Climate change 

We are already bearing a Climatic injustice where offenders are having an upper hand in making victims pay for offences against the environment and global climate.  This is inequitable.  The advent of green collar jobs as an inhibition to curtail climate change should not become a hazard to the employment the more so of the socially vulnerable workers. 

Maritime Labour Convention 2006

I also appeal to the International Labour Office to press upon Government to introduce the Maritime Labour Bill and Merchant Shipping Bill in the National Assembly to fulfil obligations in view of the ILO Maritime Labour Convention, 2006.  Ratified in May 2014, the convention has become in force for Mauritius as from 30 May 2015.  Yet relevant legislations and regulations for giving effectiveness to the Convention are still being awaited despite the readiness of the two bills for introduction in the National Assembly.

In the same breath, it should be noted that the excessive delay in the finalisation of the Employment Policy or to bring amendments to the Employment Relations Act, Employment Rights Act and Occupational Safety and Health Act are inhibiting the progression towards the reinforcement of decent work.

To end, I am mentioning points of pertinence that need to be resolved for the promotion of decent work and social justice in Mauritius. 

• Ignorance of Ratified ILO Convention 156 on Workers with Family Responsibilities. 
• Threat to universal old age pension in view of Pension Reforms. 
• Precarious work due to very short term individual work contracts. 
• Increase in unemployment rate due to the use of Artificial Intelligence to replace human labour 
• High level household debt impoverishing the Middle Class.
• Threat of the Youth Employment Programme to the creation of sustainable employment.