Labour Law

Labour and Industrial Relations

Source of Labour law:

There is a section of the universal declaration of human rights that is linked specifically to labourers. Article 23: ‘Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.’ Article 23 of the UDHR has sourced the fundamentals of labour law.

In the Mauritian constitutions, it provides various rights against discrimination and such, but one article is exactly like article 23 which speaks about the literal right to be able to work. Our constitution doesn't specifically say that we have a right to work but it rather deals that with rights against false labour of slavery.

In a supreme court judgement in Mauritius, case of Hung Vin Shipping: About the ministry of commerce imposing new conditions by way of a letter and telling Hung Vin Shipping that he was no longer able to sell his ships to whomever he wanted but ONLY sell it to the mentioned shipping cooperators. Hung argued that no one should restrict or limit who he should sell to. Section 8 of declaration of property came into place: property for him was, the right to trade. No property of any description shfwall be purposely taken possession of. It was interpreted here that property was related to the act of trading. Section 6: no one shall be held in slavery or servitude: he is free now and doesn't have to sell his fish in accordance to a certain authority.

There are 8 fundamental conventions (International aspect):

There are technical and governmental conventions.

Technical convention - convention 026 - Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928.

Ex: Maritime labour convention. Mauritius —> This is a convention we entered into and rectified in 2014. Once you ratify a convention, it has to be ensured that laws are updated and compatible with the convention. This convention concerns people who work on boats etc. Huge chunk of our work force in Mauritius. If this convention is ever to be ratified, the work conditions of these workers would be improved, their family members also will be beneficial of it. one of the main sources of law in Mauritius are conventions that are ratified.

Another aspect of study: Mauritius is going through an interesting time, last past 20 years, of entering this new globalised world.

There was always the aspect of minimum wage in some sectors in Mauritius, in the history. Now there is a notational aspect of minimum wage.

Politician’s law: People should be generally fired for economic reason, evidence of the economic reason should be given and the ministry of labour should be convinced. You cannot fire people just for the simple sake of it. The person being fired, once the tribunal has given its accord, should be made aware of it 30 days prior to firing him. Tribunal could also find irrelevance in the proposed evidence.

Employment’s right act: Some sections in the act apply to institutions, some institutions.

Remigration: once, this was the basic wage that was used for the starting point of calculation, not it is remigration. Anything that is in relation to the productivity of the job is remigration.

Section 3, 2 (A) Shall not apply to a public officer of a local government officer. When the law says that this should not apply to public officer, section 2 of interpretation should be referred to for better insight on what exactly is a public officer.

Section 4 of the law applies to a public officer: No worker shall be treated in a discriminatory manner. Important section of the law; what exactly is discrimination.

• Labour law applies to workers. Worker, as defined by section 2: someone who has entered into or works under the agreement of a contract. Does not include a person whose salary of basic wage is at (—).

Agreements: What types of agreement? who are those that may enter into an agreement? Generally a person who is 16 or more may enter into an agreement. Odd because you are still under parental authority but are nevertheless able to work and be defined as a worker.

Job contractor: defined under the law, someone who gets a contract form the sugar estate is registered as a job contractor and he is the one who employs workers to cut sugar cane. it is not the sugar estate in itself that employs the workers.

Work of equal value: Late 70s in Belgium, air hostess was paid less that Stewart for doing the exact same thing.

• Every person who employed 10 or more persons has to ensure medical assistance and benefits to them all.

Collective agreement: -

Section 4: Discrimination in employment and occupation

(1) (a) No worker shall be treated in a discriminatory manner by his employer in his employment or occupation.

(b) No person shall be treated in a discriminatory manner by a pro- spective employer in respect of access to employment or occupation.

When one talks about employment, they naturally talk about the existence of a contractual relationship’s existence. an employment therefore includes 2 parties, whereas occupation is when you don't have an employer, you do the job as an occupation. For example a medical doctor who doesn't have an occupation. In that particular section of the act, we go about the whole idea of discrimination.

In Mauritius it is more of a cultural problem, the law to prohibit discrimination is present but not as developed as it should be in practice. Not a lot of judgements from courts that can guide us in this matter.

In UK:  employment anti discrimination law ended up developing the UK.

Anti discrimination law developed later in the UK than in the US. US it began with a later emphasis, it began with equally of pay between both sexes. it focused on equality of pay for both men and women. in ’63 there was the equal pay act in the US and six was included in the civil act of ’94. iN THE UNITED STATES employment discrimination law focused mainly on race discrimination as opposed to the US, race discrimination did not become a major issue in the UK until the passage of the race nations act, quite a few years later. Although development of discrimination law has lacked behind the united states, in the recent years the situation has shifted mainly because the EU. The EU has spare headed discrimination laws with such tools as the EC (European community) equal treatment framework directive 2000/ 78 / EC.

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