Ministry hosts labour migration training |05 October 2016

Stakeholders are enhancing their capacities on labour migration to and from Seychelles as well as discussing challenges, gaps, needs and opportunities of migration management in the Seychellois context.

This is through a three-day workshop organised by the Ministry of Labour and Human Resource Development (MLHRD) in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

The workshop was officially opened yesterday by the head of office of IOM for Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and the Union of Comoros, Daniel Silva y Poveda, at the Independence House Annex.

In Seychelles, migrant workers contribute to growth and development of the economy, while countries of origin greatly benefit from their remittances and the skills acquired during their migration experience. 

Yet in Seychelles, the migration process implies complex challenges in terms of governance migrant worker’s protection, along with international cooperation among others.

IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society, along with the missions of assisting in meeting the growing operational challenges of migration management, advance understanding of migration issues, encourage social and economic development through migrations and uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants.

Mr Silva y Poveda pointed out that migration has become a mega-trend of this century.

“We are here because migration has become a mega-trend of this century. We live in a world on the move. There have never been so many people in movement. One billion people are considered to be migrants. That is one seventh of the global population, a proportion that is unprecedented in human history,” he said.

He added that even in Seychelles the international trends are rapidly changing.

“In the context of Seychelles, while migration is generally acknowledged as beneficial to the country’s development, it is also assessed that the international migration trends are rapidly changing, which can have an impact on the socio-economic profile of the country, with risks associated to integration of immigrants, and implications on the education and health systems,” he said.

He also acknowledges that the government of Seychelles has various initiatives to manage foreign workers (non-Seychellois).

“The government of Seychelles is seeking to develop and implement in the near future a labour migration policy that aims to address the migration management and development policy gap by providing a coherent and effective framework of action at national level,” he noted.

When properly managed, labour migration has far-reaching potential for the migrants, their communities, the countries of origin and destination, and for employers.

While job creation in the home country is the preferred option, demographic, social and economic factors are increasingly the drivers of migration.

As a result, a growing number of both sending and receiving countries view international labour migration as an integral part of their national development and employment strategies.

On one hand, countries of origin benefit from labour migration because it relieves unemployment pressures and contributes to development through remittances, knowledge transfer, and the creation of business and trade networks.

The technical advisor at the MLHRD Susan Morel stated that Seychelles depends a lot on foreign workers for certain industry.

“We want that all stakeholders present to be more aware on how to enhance their knowledge of labour migration management. The MLHRD requested with the IOM to assist us for the training. Also we want to develop a policy on labour migration to better coordinate our strategies with our partners on labour migration. It is important that all our partners know how to develop a policy, so that the MLHRD could have a much better understanding of labour migration in Seychelles,” she said.

In Seychelles 16,175 GOPs (gainful occupation permits) for non-Seychellois workers were issued by the Immigration Division for the year 2015 alone.

The facilitator of the workshop is Heather Komenda who has travelled from Geneva, and Davina Gounden.

Many organisations and ministries such as the MLHRD, the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Migration division are taking part in the three-day workshop.