Minister for labour visits accounting firm and bank |28 December 2013

Labour and Human Resource Development Minister Idith Alexander accompanied by high officials from her ministry conducted workplace visits to an accounting firm and a bank.

The first visit was to the accounting firm BDO Associates located in the Creole Spirit building. The ministerial delegation was welcomed by managing partner Nazrah Ramdin who proceeded with a guided tour of the different departments.

During the tour, the minister spoke to staff members who said they are satisfied with their work conditions.

Minister Alexander was pleased to note that three of the new recruits were on scholarships with the University of Seychelles and that a number of the long-serving staff members were following courses in ACCA.

Minister Alexander seized the opportunity to offer them a few words of advice in regards to their studies.

“It takes commitment and dedication to be able to work and study at the same time. But if you persevere and learn as much as you can, you will be able to reap the fruits of your hard work and progress in your chosen career,” she said.

During the debriefing session, the minister informed the management team she is happy to learn that there has been a great improvement in staff retention and that the company encourages its staff to do further studies and invests in their training.

Minister Alexander added that a good line of communication between management and staff is equally important.

For its part, the management team agreed that more can be done to ensure that staff meetings are conducted more frequently.

It thanked the minister for her visit and assured her that it is ready to work with the ministry particularly in terms of staff welfare, staff training and recruitment as there is a shortage of qualified accounting staff on the labour market.

The second visit took place at the Bank of Baroda located on Albert Street. There, the ministerial delegation was met by the bank’s chief executive LFM Shahdeo.
 
A guided tour was given to the delegation where they spoke to staff members. What was noticeable was the high retention rate with nine staff members having more than 20 years of experience. A number of staff also raised concerns regarding minor human resource issues.

In the debriefing session, the minister commended Mr Shahdeo on the bank’s high staff retention rate.

Minister Alexander also touched upon the concerns raised by staff members and added: “My ministry will help you with a human resource audit and together we can come up with solutions to address these concerns.”

The minister ended by highlighting the importance of meeting with staff members on a regular basis to keep them abreast of any new developments or decisions taken that will directly involve them.
 
Mr Shahdeo on his part thanked the minister for her visit and welcomed the idea of working closely with the Ministry of Labour and Human Resource Development, especially for the human resource audit and help with the recruitment of new staff for the bank’s new branch which will be opening soon.

Minister Alexander has said that she will continue to conduct workplace visits in 2014.

The accompanying photos show Minister Alexander interacting with staff and meeting management at the two institutions she visited.

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