Both Maurilait and Payanke CIP lounge opened their doors in 2018 and as young businesses, they have their fair share of expectations from employees. As is customary Minister Telemaque interacted with the staff who were on duty. In both establishments, the Seychellois staff expressed that they were generally happy with their work. At Payanke CIP Lounge staff reported that some issues have been sorted prior to the visit   and now there is better communication between the management  and staff, that in a way is making their working environment more conducive and has minimized the high staff turnover.  The Minister recommended that there is a need to have a more regular presence of the  HR Manager on the ground to attend to  staff issues  in order to maintain good industrial relations at all times.

Maurilait a very small company affiliated with Maurilait in Mauritius experienced certain difficulties in the beginning to recruit locals to join them and had to recruit from overseas but now they have 54% locals working for them. They are working on strategies to encourage retention, one of which is the development of staff for their future progression. Information gathered by the Ministry prior to the visit was the practice of preferential treatment to foreigner workers as opposed to local workers which the Minister raised and cautioned that if it is happening it must be stopped immediately.

East Indies with over 10 years’ experience in business in Seychelles have been able to attract some of their previous employees who left the company. The staff mentioned that with the presence of a Human Resource Officer on site, things have improved immensely. The Minister was pleased to hear that some of them have been with the company since opening and has over the years shared their experience with the young ones who had joined the company. One example was Mr. Julio Monthy who started with the company as a casual worker at the very young age of 15 and with so much devotion and perseverance, now at the age of 20, he is already employed as a Warehouse Controller, which is a supervisory position, with seven staff under his responsibility. ‘Such good practices should be shared as examples for others to follow,’ said the Minister. (A profile on Julio’s journey will be published in a future edition.)

During the debriefing with management, Minister Telemaque recommended more communication with staff to be undertaken and stressed on the importance of having Human Resource structure in place that has been proven to be effective, as has shown by East Indies that now generally have better industrial harmony. She also spoke about the need to ensure the welfare of all workers by providing a conducive work environment so that they are comfortable and are able to give their all.

The meetings closed with the Minister giving the assurance of her Ministry’s support and to continue the dialogue to find solutions to the challenges raised to improve employees conditions of employement and performance.

Whilst she was at the airport location, the Minister took the opportunity to drop by the Coffee Club and Seybar to greet and share a few words of encouragement with the staff who were on duty that day. She was pleased to note that they were all in good spirit and serving their clients with the Seychelles smile.

The Ministry will continue with the visits throughout the year. More importantly, it will ensure that the agreed recommendations for each visit are implemented and the close collaboration continues for the benefit of all.

Payanke CIP Lounge

Coffe Club

East Indies - Mr Julio Monthy

Maurilait

 CONTRIBUTED BY:   Ministry of Employment, Immigration and Civil Status