Task force set up to monitor workers’ conditions |21 April 2018

A task force has been set up to look into the living and working conditions of workers in Seychelles, including expatriates.

The Ministry of Employment, Immigration & Civil Status has set up this task force in the wake of the recent incidents whereby foreign workers of a construction company were discovered living in deplorable conditions on Zone 20 at Providence.

Set up last week, the task force, comprising various government departments and agencies, will inspect and monitor all living accommodations housing large groups of workers.

Apart from representatives from the Ministry of Employment, Immigration & Civil Status, other representatives on the task force come from the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Health, Planning Authority, Licensing Authority, Fire and Rescue Services Agency (FRSA), Department of Risk and Disaster Management (DRDM), Registration Department and the Police.

With two to three random visits per week, the task force will for the next three months target foreign workers’ living quarters in the construction and farming sectors.

A list of company names have been identified for early inspection and on Wednesday this week, the task force made its first door to door inspection to six living quarters for foreign workers on Zone 20 at Providence.

As of yesterday, the task force is continuing with its visits to other living accommodations on the zone.

After conducting visits to the construction and farming sectors, the task force will move to other sectors.

The principal secretary for employment, Jules Baker, said that with a lack of responsibility by certain employers to provide appropriate accommodation for their workers, the task force will ensure that decent accommodation is made available among other conditions.

He noted that it is the role of the Ministry of Health to safeguard the living conditions of the foreign workers and from now on, all departments concerned will go for inspection as a group compared to separate individual inspections as had been the case in the past.

PS Baker added that the ministry has made available leaflets containing information on Seychelles labour laws and other contact information at the disposal of foreign workers and at the Seychelles International Airport.

There are about 10,000 businesses in Seychelles employing 17,000 foreign workers.