First Reading On motion made and seconded, the following Bills were read a first time – (a) The Employment Relations (Amendment) Bill (No. XIX of 2024) (b) The Special Allowance Bill (No. XX of 2024) Second Reading THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS (AMENDMENT) BILL (NO. XIX OF 2024) Order for Second Reading read. (4.09 p.m.)

Madam Speaker, I move that the Employment Relations (Amendment) Bill (No. XIX of 2024) be read a second time. Madame la présidente, j’ai l’honneur et le privilège de présenter le premier projet de loi de l’Alliance du Changement après notre victoire historique aux dernières élections générales. La très grande majorité des électeurs et la population dans son ensemble ont placé leur espoir en notre équipe, et nous ferons de notre mieux pour être à la hauteur de leurs attentes. Et c’est tout un symbole, Madame la présidente, que les deux premiers projets de loi à l’ordre du jour visent à améliorer les conditions de vie des travailleurs de ce pays. Tout un symbole, car tout d’abord, le Parti travailliste, Labour Party, comme ce nom l’indique, a pris naissance en 1936 précisément pour défendre la cause des travailleurs. Un combat repris par le Mouvement militant mauricien, le MMM, qui a beaucoup œuvré pour la reconnaissance et le respect des droits des travailleurs, tout comme Rezistans ek Alternativ qui a toujours milité comme syndicaliste pour le bien-être des travailleurs. Et aujourd’hui, nous sommes rejoints dans notre combat par les Nouveaux Démocrates. Madame la présidente, le projet de loi devant la Chambre aujourd’hui consiste à amender the Employment Relations Act afin de donner au ministre du Travail le pouvoir de réglementer le paiement de salaires additionnels suite à l’introduction ou à la révision du salaire minimum. Le ministre pourra, dès lors, à travers des regulations, rendre obligatoire le paiement d’un salaire additionnel pour rétablir la relativité salariale dans le secteur privé. À chaque fois qu’on fixe un nouveau salaire minimum, il faut aussi ajuster les salaires des autres employés pour maintenir la relativité salariale, notamment pour prendre en considération le temps de service des employés existants et leurs grades. Sous les lois existantes, il y a deux façons de procéder pour l’ajustement des salaires suite à l’introduction du salaire minimum. Dans le premier cas, le National Wage Consultative Council peut faire des recommandations au ministre du Travail, c’est l’une de ses fonctions prévues expressément à l’article 5(b)(v) et 5(b)(vi) du National Wage Consultative Council Act de 2016. Dans le deuxième cas, le ministre peut, sous l’article 93 de l’Employment Relations Act, demander au National Remuneration Board de lui recommander une nouvelle grille salariale. Suite à l’introduction du salaire minimum en janvier 2018, le ministre avait demandé au National Remuneration Board de lui proposer des ajustements au salaire des employés du secteur privé et, suite aux recommandations du NRB en 2022, 17 Remuneration Regulations ont été amendées. Cependant, lorsqu’en janvier 2024, le salaire minimum passe à R 16 500, le gouvernement sortant choisit de faire fi aux dispositions de la loi et d’adopter une toute autre procédure. Au lieu de demander au National Wage Consultative Council ou au National Remuneration Board de venir avec des recommandations pour les ajustements salariaux, le 3 juillet 2024, un comité ministériel présidé par le Premier ministre d’alors décide d’instituer un Technical Committee sous la présidence de l’Acting Financial Secretary. C’était le 3 juillet et deux jours après, seulement deux jours après, le 5 juillet 2024, le comité a recommandé une augmentation de R 4 925 par rapport au salaire de 2023. Pas de grille salariale, pas d’études approfondies, pas de consultation avec les représentants des travailleurs et du patronat. Le 13 septembre 2024, 32 remuneration regulations furent amendées pour donner effet aux recommandations du Technical Committee. Ces regulations étaient faites supposément sous l’article 106 de l’Employment Relations Act. Madame la présidente, les réactions n’ont pas tardé, que ce soit du côté de Business Mauritius ou de certains syndicalistes, tout le monde a déclaré que le ministre d’alors n’avait pas le pouvoir d’amender les Remuneration Orders dans les conditions qu’il les avait faites. Je me souviens très bien que l’honorable Ashok Subron, en ce temps simple syndicaliste de Rezistans ek Alternativ, lors d’un rassemblement à Triolet, demandait au gouvernement de rappeler le Parlement d’urgence, car selon lui, et il avait raison, les ajustements salariaux auraient dû être faits à travers un projet de loi et non à travers des regulations. Mais au lieu de rappeler le Parlement, le 24 septembre, le ministre a tout simplement révoqué les 32 remuneration regulations seulement pour les remplacer par d’autres regulations identiques, mais cette fois-ci faites supposément sous les articles 94 et 106 de l’Employment Relations Act. Madame la présidente, ce qui devait arriver arriva et, le 9 octobre, quelques jours plus tard, Business Mauritius entra une action en Cour suprême pour contester la légalité des 32 règlements. Le lendemain, une entreprise privée, Akhtar Anver Toorawa Ltd, entra aussi une action pour contester la légalité du Distributive Trades (Remuneration) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2024. En conséquence, plusieurs entreprises du privé ont choisi de ne pas payer les salaires additionnels tant que la Cour suprême n’aurait pas tranché sur ces deux affaires. Les deux affaires seront appelées pro forma à nouveau au mois de janvier de l’année prochaine. Et ces affaires comme vous avez, Madame la présidente, risquent de prendre plusieurs mois, voire des années, avant qu’on ait un jugement final. Madame la présidente, dès ma prise de fonction, j’ai rencontré plusieurs syndicalistes de même que les représentants de Business Mauritius et tous deux m’ont demandé de trouver une solution pour que les travailleurs du secteur privé puissent obtenir le paiement de leurs salaires additionnels sans avoir à attendre la délibération de la Cour suprême. Je me suis entretenu avec les représentants du State Law Office et, à mon grand étonnement, Madame la présidente, j’ai pris connaissance d’un avis légal du bureau du Solicitor General en date du 2 septembre 2024. Le 2 septembre 2024, c’était une dizaine de jours avant que le ministre vienne de l’avant avec ces remuneration regulations, et que dit cet avis légal ? Je cite un extrait – “Accordingly, it seems that there is at present no legal basis expressly provided for the enactment of regulation to reflect wage relativity adjustment following the review of the National Minimum Wage.” No legal basis. “Additionally, it also appears that there is no legal basis for regulation to be made in respect of employees who are not governed by any remuneration regulation nor for the making of regulation to provide for national minimum wages for jobs warranting the possession of a diploma or degree as entry requirements.” Therefore, Madam Speaker, the former Government was well aware that there was no expressed legal basis for the Minister of Labour to make the 32 remuneration regulations which he made back in September 2024. And today, with this Bill, Madam Speaker, we are correcting all this so that eligible employees in the private sector can finally get their additional remuneration. Now turning to the provisions of the Bill, clause 3 repeals and replaces the existing Section 94 of the Employment Rights Act. The new Section 94, subsection (1), is similar to the existing subsection (1) and empowers the Minister to make regulation to reflect payment of additional remuneration or national minimum wage or wage adjustment arising from the introduction or review of the national minimum wage in the salary of employees prescribed by remuneration orders. Subsection (2)(a) of clause 3 gives the Minister express powers to make regulations for the payment of wage adjustment to address the issue of wage relativity, not only with respect to remuneration regulations made under section 93 of the Employment Relations Act but also in respect of industry or sector activity not covered by the remuneration regulation. I pause here to add this, Madam Speaker, that this is an extremely important amendment that is being proposed, and it is an amendment that has been requested time and again by the trade unionists because up to now, only employees working in industries and sectors that were governed by remuneration regulations were eligible to get salary adjustment. But with this amendment, the Minister will also be able to provide for the payment of additional salary to those employees in the private sector that are not covered by remuneration regulations. However, a word of caution: such wide powers should be used judiciously and not arbitrarily. In practice, the Minister should rely on recommendations of the National Remuneration Board or the Wage Consultative Council before making any regulations. Subsection (2)(b) empowers the Minister to make regulation to provide for a monthly minimum basic wage for employees holding a diploma or post-HSC first degree where the entry requirements for the job so require. You will recall that such provision was not provided for in the law as per the advice tendered by the State Law Office. The proposed minimum monthly basic wage will be Rs23,000 for a job requiring an employee to possess a diploma and Rs25,000 for a job requiring an employee to possess a post-HSC first degree. Subsection (4) provides that the 32 remuneration regulations that were passed in September shall be deemed to have been made under this Act, thereby eliminating any doubt as to their legality. Clause 5 of the Bill provides for the coming into operation of the above provisions with effect as from 01 July 2014. With the coming into force of this Bill, eligible employees in the private sector will be paid an additional salary retrospectively as from 01 July 2024. Madam Speaker, it was necessary for Government to come with this Bill first before passing the Special Allowance Bill which is also on today’s Order Paper, because we want to make sure that the Special Allowance that which will be based on a worker’s basic salary, should include the adjustment to that basic salary as per the amendment that is being brought today in this House with this Bill. With these words, I commend the Bill to the House. Thank you. Dr. Boolell rose and seconded. Question put and agreed to.

I think at this time, we can move for a break for tea. We can come back unless, is that alright? Is it okay? We all go for tea and then come back?

You decide, Madam Speaker.

Yes, but I like consensus. Since you are here, I like consensus. Alright, let’s break for tea for half an hour. At 4.22 p.m. the Sitting was suspended. On resuming at 5.01 p.m. with the Deputy Speaker in the Chair.

Please be seated! Hon. Leader of the Opposition! (5.01 p.m.) The Leader of the Opposition (Mr G. Lesjongard): Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. M. le président, je n’ai pas eu l’occasion de vous féliciter, permettez-moi de le faire cet après-midi.

Merci.

M. le président, comme l’a dit le ministre qui a présenté ce projet de loi, c’est le tout premier projet de loi de ce nouveau gouvernement ; un projet de loi certes qui est simple, mais nécessaire dans le sens qu’il découle des décisions prises par l’ancien gouvernement à la suite de l’introduction du salaire minimum qui remonte à 2018, et cela fait suite, je comprends, aux représentations syndicales que le gouvernement avait introduites en réajustant les salaires des employés qui ne touchaient pas le salaire minimum, mais qui avaient plusieurs années de service tout en ayant un salaire identique avec les nouveaux employés. M. le président, l’histoire retiendra que c’est sous un gouvernement MSM que le salaire minimum a été introduit. Le Parti travailliste, le MMM qui, à une certaine époque, on doit le reconnaître, M. le président, ont lutté pour les droits des travailleurs, mais n’ont pas eu le courage de venir de l’avant avec une telle décision quand ils étaient au pouvoir. Ces derniers temps, M. le président, on parle des énormes pressions exercées sur le gouvernement actuel par le patronat concernant le 14ᵉ mois, et tout à l’heure, on viendra dans ces discussions, mais imaginez-vous la pression à l’époque quand il fallait introduire le salaire minimum ? Mais il faut le reconnaître, cette mesure a permis à une centaine de milliers de familles de sortir de la misère et de vivre une vie plus décente. M. le président, l’introduction du salaire minimum a permis de réduire l’écart entre les différentes classes sociales de notre pays et, de facto, les inégalités dans notre société. C’était la vision de l’ancien gouvernement, une politique sociale pour une société plus juste et aujourd’hui, ce projet de loi, il faut le reconnaître, va dans ce sens. Avec la relativité salariale, nous allons diminuer davantage ces inégalités dans la société mauricienne. M. le président, j’espère que le ministre du Travail veillera à ce que chaque entreprise applique cette loi à la lettre afin justement de réajuster les salaires de leurs employés dans les délais prescrits par la loi. M. le président, à l’annonce de la nouvelle crise salariale en septembre dernier dans les différents secteurs, les syndicats avaient demandé la publication des Remuneration Orders par le National Remuneration Board. C’est-à-dire ces Remuneration Orders pour plusieurs secteurs non couverts par le NRB et qui concernent des dizaines de milliers d’employés. M. le président, je comprends qu’un travail a déjà commencé et que le NRB a proposé des recommandations dans ce sens et je comprends aussi que l’ancien ministre du Travail envisageait de préparer une première ébauche de ce projet de loi afin qu’il n’y ait pas de contestation légale et on a écouté ce que le ministre avait à dire à ce propos. L’ancien gouvernement proposait d’apporter des amendements au National Wage Consultative Council Act afin de permettre à cette instance de faire des recommandations sur la relativité salariale. L’amendement proposé permettrait au ministre de faire des règlements par rapport à la relativité salariale à l’avenir. Ce projet de loi, dans sa forme actuelle, je pense ne prend pas cela en considération, M. le président. M. le président, le revenu minimum garanti comporte deux aspects, c’est-à-dire, et je vais essayer d’élaborer dessus pour avoir plus de renseignements de la part du ministre. C’est-à-dire qu’il y a deux composants : le salaire minimum et les allocations de la MRA. Il y a eu une révision du revenu minimum garanti de R 9 000 en 2018 à R 20 000 en juillet 2024 et, par la suite, une augmentation du salaire minimum à R 16 500 en juillet 2024. Toutefois, M. le président, il y a un flou et le ministre concerné, je pense, devrait nous éclairer sur l’indexation de la compensation salariale. Est-ce que le revenu minimum garanti passera à R 20 610 en janvier 2025 ou est-ce que les R 610 payées comme compensation seront incluses dans le montant actuel du revenu minimum garanti ? Je pense qu’il est important de nous donner ces informations. Comme je l'ai dit, je ne vais pas être long dans cette intervention, M. le président. Permettez-moi de conclure sur cette note politique et peut-être qui ne va pas plaire à tout le monde. L’alliance du changement a obtenu une large victoire aux dernières élections générales, et cela grâce aux travailleurs de ce pays. Ces mêmes travailleurs qui ont connu, il faut le dire, il y a quelques années de cela la crise du Covid, qui craignaient de perdre leurs emplois et qui ont bossé jour et nuit, M. le président, pour redresser l’économie de ce pays, et beaucoup d’entre eux ne bénéficieront pas de la compensation salariale, malheureusement. Ce que j’ai à dire au gouvernement, c'est qu’il faut honorer les promesses, respecter les engagements pris envers les travailleurs de ce pays et donner leur dit…

(Interruptions)

Je vais terminer. M. le président, merci.

(Interruptions)

Thank you for your speech. Hon. Mr Subron! (5.10 p.m.) The Minister of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity (Mr A. Subron): Yes, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I had to change my speech because it was modelled for the Madam Speaker. First, allow me to start by saying that history will retain that the first Bill to be presented by the new Government of L’Alliance du Changment to this Assembly is directly related to the living conditions of the working class of the country. This is not a matter of coincidence; it only confirms the deep commitment of the present Government to the working people who labour and toil for this country. Indeed, it was the Labour Party which, in 1936, put the issue of national minimum wage on the agenda of the working-class struggle in its manifesto on 23 February 1936. It was the MMM which put the sectorial minimum wage on the agenda in the 1970s struggle and the struggle for the national minimum wage, I am replying to the hon. Leader of the Opposition that has been inserted in our law is the product of the workers’ struggle and the union movement. It’s not the product of any other struggles! As stated in our manifesto, les travailleurs représentent la principale force sociale de notre république et constituent le moteur essentiel de la création de la richesse. L’Alliance du Changement leur accordera la reconnaissance qu’ils méritent tout au long de son mandat, pas seulement à l’approche des élections !

Bien envoyé !

Secondly, it is an honour for me, as a newly elected member of Constituency No. 4 in the National Assembly, under the banner of l’Alliance du Changement and coming both from the trade union movement and Rezistans ek Alternativ – a party deeply rooted in the working class – to make my first input in this Assembly on a central issue concerning the working class. Thirdly, before the election, having been a spokesperson of l’Alliance du Changement, Rezistans ek Alternativ and spokesperson of the trade union movement, I publicly raised the issue of incompatibility of the present remuneration regulations on salary readjustment with law. I cannot but commend the presentation of this Bill by the hon. Minister of Labour. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Bill, which is proposing to amend Section 99 of the Employment Relations Act, concerns directly some 300,000 employees of the private sector. It aims at legally ensuring and guaranteeing the payment of a wage relativity adjustment of up to Rs2,925 to workers of the private sector to partially re-establish their salary relativity following the increase of the National Minimum Wage in January 2024. The irresponsibility and lack of respect of the previous government, confining the issue of wage relativity adjustment payment to a mere electoral weapon, have opened the door for the jeopardy of the very payment of the salary readjustment. The previous government mismanagement on the issue since the increase of the national minimum wage in January 2024 finally led to the wrongful enactment of 32 remuneration regulations in August and September 2024. It is this irresponsibility that has enabled Business Mauritius, the body representing the employers, to challenge the very legality of the payments of wage relativity readjustment in the Supreme Court. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is now an established fact from documents available from the SLO that the previous government went as far as dismissing the legal advice tendered by the State Law Office on this issue. My colleague, the hon. Minister mentioned clauses of this letter dated 02 September. Without the enactment of the present Bill, the payments of salary readjustment already effected to thousands of workers in the private sector are at the risk of being nullified given the legal challenge raised by employers’ organisations in the Supreme Court. In addition, the projected payments of salary readjustment to some 40,000 workers not covered by the 32 remuneration regulations will be uncertain without the present amendment of Section 99 of the Employment Relations Act. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is in the public interest that this Assembly understands the series of events which have led to the present crisis facing some 300,000 workers. This Assembly should be informed that as soon as the national minimum wage was officially announced in November 2023, major trade union confederations of the country, in which I was part, insisted that the then government should in parallel cater to salary relativity differentials and pay a salary readjustment to all private and public sector workers accordingly. On 07 December 2023, the previous government announced that the National Wages Consultative Council would produce a report on the same by the end of March 2024. There was no such report, as the National Wages Consultative Council was never requested to address the issue of wage relativity. As stated by my colleague, the hon. Minister of Labour, under the National Wages Consultative Council Act 2016, it is the statutory object of the National Wages Consultative Council to be responsible for making recommendations to the Minister on wage relativity. The Act stipulates that, inter alia, the object of the Council should be to make recommendations on the approach to be adopted to address the issue of wage relativity in the private sector that may arise from the introduction of the national minimum wage in remuneration regulations made under the Employment Relations Act. It states to make a recommendation for the introduction of a master conversion table to address the issue of wage relativity in the private sector. No official consultation ever took place under the previous government with the trade union movement to discuss the issue of wage relativity. It was only when the electoral dynamics started to unfold that, out of the blue, on 22 August 2024, the then government, through the GIS, published unofficial remuneration orders on wage relativity adjustment. A few days later, on 13 September 2024, the 32 remuneration regulations were officially made under Section 99 of the Employment Relations Act. After public outcry from various workers, including the trade union movement and Opposition parties, the then government revoked the previous 32 remuneration regulations and came with another set of 32 remuneration regulations on 24 September 2024. Now, made under Sections 94 and 106 of the Employment Relations Act. As predicated by many in the union movement, the employers’ organisation didn’t take long to challenge the very legality of all the remuneration regulations made on 24 September 2024. They decided to enter a Judicial Review in the Supreme Court. It was at this point in time that the l’Alliance du Changement undertook publicly to amend the Employment Relations Act to ensure the legality of all wage relativity adjustment payments. I am pleased today that this commitment ensuring up to Rs2,925 wage relativity adjustment payment to some 300,000 workers is being addressed by this Government in its first legislative act of the National Assembly. I call on all hon. Members to support this historical amendment to be brought to the Employment Relations Act. May I stress that this amendment for the guaranteeing of wage relativity adjustment is not an ad hoc nor a one-off issue but a permanent, lifelong measure where this wage relativity adjustment payment will now be legally secured, integrated and consolidated in the basic salary of all private sector workers, thus also impacting other benefits such as the overtime payment or retirement benefits. I understand that as soon as this Bill is voted and enacted, the Minister will make a new remuneration regulation to ensure that all employees not covered by the 32 existing remuneration orders get their wage relativity adjustment payment in due course. I also understand that the PRB will look more deeply into the wage relativity adjustment for all public sector employees in its coming report. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, to conclude, I want to make three general comments - (i) I want to conclude by reassuring the working people of this country that despite the disastrous economic legacy and blunders of the previous government, this, the present Government of Alliance Changement including Rezistans ek Alternativ, is deeply committed to the safeguard of the interests of the whole of the working people throughout our five-year mandate. (ii) In parallel with, we do also welcome any dissenting views on any policy measures this Government is taking or might take in the future. This is what a vibrant democratic society is all about. It is within the expression of these social contradictions and dissenting voices that we can also shape our common future. (iv) On a more philosophical level, in the context of the ongoing debate and concerns in our country and the world, one thing is for sure: there is no economy without the labour of the people, and there is no economy without nature and its ecological services. These are the social and ecological boundaries and limits any economic model or policies are bound to stay within. COVID-19 and the climate crisis paradoxically reminded all of humanity of these two obvious facts. I wish to thank all hon. Members for their attention and patience. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Thank you, hon. Minister, I did not want to interrupt you during your speech, but I am the Deputy Speaker. Thank you, hon. Mr Uteem. (5.24 p.m.)

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. First of all, let me thank the hon. Leader of Opposition and my colleague, hon. Ashok Subron, for intervening on this Bill. I congratulate him for his maiden speech. I don’t have much to add by way of summing up, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, because there is clearly consensus on this Bill to rectify a decision taken by the former government which was tainted with illegality. The hon. Leader of Opposition seems to suggest that with the coming into force of this Bill, the hon. Minister of Labour will no longer have the power to refer the matter to NRB for advice, especially as regards those employees which are not covered by remuneration regulation. This is not correct; what we are doing is the opposite. We are giving a special power to the Minister to come by way of the regulation to regulate any sectors, occupations, or industries not covered by the remuneration regulations. But we are not doing away with Section 91 of the Employment Relations Act, which allows the Minister to refer to the NRB any issue for their reconsideration. And, in fact, I can tell you that the former Minister of Labour, my predecessor, had already, on 03 September, referred the matter to the National Remuneration Board. He made a reference for the creation of regulations concerning employees not covered by the existing 32 remuneration orders. We will wait to see those recommendations before we come up with the regulation to enable all employees which are not covered in the remuneration regulations to be able to get this additional salary with retrospective effect. The hon. Leader of Opposition also spoke about indexation of salary compensation. This is something that our Government will look into. We have received representation from trade unions to that effect. We will have a technical committee which will look at this because there are also representations by some trade unionists who think that if you index the salary compensation automatically on the inflation rate, they may not be getting sufficient compensation. So, it is a tricky situation; we are open to suggestions. The minimum wage of Rs610 is in addition to the basic salary which all workers earning less than Rs50,000 earn in Mauritius in private sectors. So, with these words, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I commend, once again, this Bill to the House. Thank you.

Seconded? Seconded? Motion needs to be seconded! Question put and agreed to. Bill read a second time and committed. COMMITTEE STAGE (Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair) The Employment Relations (Amendment) Bill (No. XIX of 2024) was considered and agreed to. On the Assembly resuming with the Deputy Speaker in the Chair, the Deputy Speaker reported accordingly.