carried out by officers of the Special Migrant Workers’ Unit at workplaces where migrant workers
are employed to, inter alia, ascertain that the employer is complying with the terms and conditions
of employment as provided for in the vetted contract of employment and in the prevailing labor
legislation. Measures that have been taken as from 2016 to reinforce the technical labor of the
Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations, Employment and Training. It has had a huge impact both
in terms of quality and effectiveness of the service provided to the public at large, on the number
of cases dealt with disposed of as well as with the number of inspections/enquiries carried out to
ensure compliance of the various labor legislations.
176. The number of inspections carried out from 2016 to 2018 has almost increase fivefold
(local workers) and the amount of money recovered on behalf of workers, for breach of or noncompliance with legislation or other regulations during the said inspections have increased one
and a half time from Rs 2,147,252 in 2016 to Rs 3,511,658 in 2017. In 2018, 2,317 inspection
visits were carried out and Rs 2,800,740 recovered. From January2019 to May 2019, 626
inspections were effected and Rs 18,029 was recovered.
177. The national minimum wage is effective since 01 January 2018. Migrant workers are also
entitled to the national minimum wage.
178. All foreign workers, except those employed in export manufacturing enterprises, to be
insured under the NPA as from their first day of employment. Migrant workers employed in Export
Manufacturing Enterprises are as date still being required to contribute to the NPS only upon
completion of their two years of employment.
179. Mauritius is a party to ILO Convention No 100 on “equal remuneration for work of equal
value”. The philosophy and principles of the aforesaid convention has been domesticated in section
20 of the Employment Rights Act which provides that both men and women, including migrant
workers, should be treated equally at the workplace with regards to the payment of remuneration.
180. Our labour legislation applies indiscriminately to migrant workers and migrant workers are
not excluded in any manner whatsoever from the application of the Act and similarly of the
different Remuneration Regulations. No worker shall be treated in a discriminatory manner by his
employer in his employment or occupation and no person shall be treated in a discriminatory
manner by a prospective employer in respect of access to employment or occupation.
“discrimination”, under the Employment Rights Act, includes affording different treatment to
different workers attributable wholly or mainly to their respective descriptions by age, race, colour,
caste, creed, sex, sexual orientation, HIV status, religion, political opinion, place of origin, national
extraction or social origin, which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity
or treatment in employment or occupation.
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