Ministers hail career progress scheme at SPTC |18 December 2013

The ministers responsible for transport and labour, Joel Morgan and Idith Alexander respectively, have commended the Seychelles Public Transport Corporation (SPTC) for what they have described as “the well-defined programme for career development and progression in the organisation”.

They have also commended the SPTC for coming out top last year in the Seychelles Human Resources Development Award and for being one of the organisations with the best performance management systems in Seychelles.

In addition to this, the SPTC is also a past winner of the ‘Safety Week’ Best Safe Workplace Awards.

Ministers Morgan and Alexander were speaking after a joint visit to the organisation where they had the chance to meet the staff and listen to their concerns.

“I am happy to note that the SPTC has evolved into an organisation with strong and well defined internal procedures and I am impressed with the systematic way the logistics operation is managed, from the scheduling of the bus routes to the daily rosters of drivers. More modern systems are expected to be put in place by the management of SPTC with the aim of maximising the organisation’s productivity and efficiency,” said Minister Morgan.

“I am also pleased to see that SPTC is an organisation that values its employees and is continuously looking at ways to improve their working conditions and environment; this can be seen by its constant improvement of the scheme of service for drivers which, since its introduction in 2004, was amended in 2007 and again in September this year, with a view to meeting the challenges the drivers faced during the course of their duty,” added the Minister.

Minister Alexander said she was happy to see that SPTC has a good staff retention rate and that the company is investing in the development of its staff.

“My ministry is here to assist SPTC in this area and my officers are always ready to clarify any concerns or query that staff or management may have,” she said.

The ministerial delegation was met by the chief executive officer of SPTC, Geffy Zialor, at the organisation’s head office located at the Victoria bus terminal, where they were given a guided tour of the administrative blocks and the bus terminal, and as well as had the chance to interact with the staff they met.

This was followed by a short bus trip to the New Port depot where the operation units of SPTC are located. There, the ministers met staff from different sections of the organisation and shared a few words of encouragement with the long-serving staff, some of whom have worked for 28 years, as well as with the newly recruited staff members.

A meeting was also held with members of the Drivers Committee, where the ministers seized the opportunity to gauge the drivers’ feedback on the new scheme of service that was introduced on September 1, 2013 and address their concerns.

The accompanying photos show the ministers and their delegation touring the different sections of the SPTC.