Mauritius Regulatory Environment Employment legislation in Mauritius strikes a reasonable balance between the interests of employers and employees.

Some of the main features are as follows:

The basic working day is 8 hours, and overtime must be paid for more than 90 hours worked per fortnight; 20 days of paid leave and 15 days of paid sick leave are permitted; There is a '13th month' of bonus pay at the end of the year; The employer must pay for and provide transport to work if the distance is greater than 3 km (this is why Free Zone employers are given a tax break on the purchase of staff buses); Compensation for dismissal is linked to the length of employment; if dismissal is deemed 'unfair' then the worker receives six times the amount of statutory severance pay.

Mauritius Work Permits Work permits are necessary for non-Mauritians to be employed; there is no maximum stay as such, but work permits are issued for a minimum period of 6 months and a maximum of 3 years. A work permit is necessary for all non-Mauritians seeking employment, and these are granted by the Prime Ministers Office, in association with the Ministry of Human Resource Development, and on the recommendation of the Mauritius Financial Services Commission. Non-nationals may be eligible for occupation permits which allow an individual and their dependants to reside and work in Mauritius. To qualify, an individual must be one of the following:

An investor with a minimum investment of USD100,000 in a business that generates turnover exceeding MRU4 million annually A professional with a minimum monthly salary of MRU45,000 A self-employed individual with business activity exceeding MRU600,000 annually and a minimum initial investment of USD35,000.

Trade union rights in law

The 2008 Employment Relations Act includes measures to promote collective bargaining, and also recognizes the right to bargain at the sectoral level. However, many restrictions apply to the right to strike. To call a strike, a complex conciliation and mediation procedure must be exhausted, which can last up to two months in total. Both the requirement regarding the voting system and the necessary quorum in a strike ballot are excessive, and unions cannot call a strike concerning general economic policy issues. Furthermore, all demonstrations are prohibited during the sittings of the Parliamentary Assembly, as are all strikes at the national level. Even when a lawful strike is organised, the Prime Minister can request the Supreme Court to prohibit it and refer the dispute to arbitration. A minimum service must be established in far too many sectors.

In practice
Migrant workers: Migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to trade union rights violations. When these workers go on strike, the coordinated response of the employers and the authorities is often to send them back to their country of origin on the grounds of breach of contract and illegal strike. Many migrants are employed on short-term contracts, particularly in the sugar plantations and textile industry, and in practice they cannot organise. The working conditions of Bangladeshi migrants in Mauritius have been described as being akin to modern slavery. The ILOs Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) has asked the government to indicate the measures taken to guarantee migrant workers their trade union rights, both in law and in practice. Export processing zones: Employers in the export processing zones (EPZs) remain hostile to the unions, who find it very difficult to approach the workers given that, in most cases, trade unionists are denied access to the industrial sites. As a result, union membership levels in the EPZs are below 12%. The ILO has consistently highlighted the need for greater protection against acts of interference by employers and employer organisations in the activities of trade unions and the need for rapid appeals procedures and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions in this regard. The ILOs Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) has urged the government to take measures for the promotion of collective bargaining in all areas of economic activity. Decent Work Employers federation refuses to sign Decent Work Country Programme : In October 2011, the Labour Minister called on the ILO to intervene after the Mauritius Employers

Federation (MEF) refused to sign the Decent Work Country Programme, despite being closely involved in the negotiations to develop it. These programmes, that form the basis of ILO assistance to the country and aim to promote decent work are based on tripartism, hence the employers are an essential partner in the process. The Minister believed the MEF was withholding its signature as a means of putting pressure on him over a bargaining dispute involving the la Mauritius Sugar Producers Association (MSPA). High level of dismissals of union representatives in the private sector: The Federation of United Workers (Fderation des Travailleurs Unis - FTU) held a demonstration outside the Labour Ministry on 23 September to protest at what its General Secretary Atma Shanto described as an alarming rate of dismissals of trade union representatives in the private sector. Figures released by the Ministry showed that 8,000 trade union representatives had been dismissed between 2008 and 2011. The trade union presence in the private sector has steadily dwindled, leaving only the sugar industry with structured unions and active grass roots militants. Even the sugar industry unions may be at risk. Under the Employment Relations Act, employers can withdraw recognition from any union that represents less than 30% of the workforce some unions in the sugar industry do not meet this target.

Violations
Government ignores unions in sugar industry reforms : In September, the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC), the Service Providing Institutions of the Sugar Sector (SPISS), the Mauritius Trade Union Congress (MTUC) and the Mauritius Labour Congress joined forces to hold a protest demonstration following the governments failure to consult them over reforms in the sugar industry. The government had decided to cut funding to the parastatal bodies providing services in the sector and many feared for their jobs. The unions had requested dialogue, but their letters had remained unanswered. Nine unionists arrested : Atma Shanto, General Secretary, and eight other members of the United Workers Federation (Fdration des Travailleurs Unis - FTU) were arrested by police on 14 November after they had staged a peaceful demonstration in front of the National Assembly. According to the law, no demonstrations are allowed in front of Government House when Parliament is in session. They were arrested under Section 8 of the Public Gathering Act, but the police later had to change the charges as the Act is applicable only when at least 12 people are involved. Instead they brought charges of obstructing

access to parliament. The FTU in its turn brought a formal complaint against the police for breach of their freedom of assembly, expression and movement. The protest was about the mistreatment of workers at the La Plantation hotel.
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