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Mauritius Labor
One of the government's economic successes in the late
1980s
was job creation, largely through the growth of EPZ
enterprises.
Between 1983 and 1989, total employment rose by 55
percent.
Manufacturing employment increased about 16,000 per year
between
1985 and 1988, but only by 3,500 annually in the 1988 to
1992
period. Women account for about 65 percent of EPZ
employees and
34 percent of total employment, representing 158,900
women. The
rapid growth of manufacturing jobs has created labor
shortages in
the agricultural and manufacturing sectors; as a result,
Chinese
guest workers have been brought in by some textile
factories. The
total number of employed in 1992 was 282,400, and the
number of
unemployed was estimated at 10,300; as of 1993
unemployment was
negligible (about 9,000 persons), and Mauritius could
boast of
full employment. Some 38 percent worked in manufacturing
(27
percent in clothing firms), 20 percent in government
services,
and 15 percent in agriculture. As it enters the stage of
becoming
a newly industrialized country, Mauritius needs to use its
labor
force more effectively, shifting workers from less
productive to
more productive sectors. This transition requires the
government
to promote labor mobility, as well as greater
technological
skills and training
(see Education
, this ch.).
In 1991 a total of 287 registered unions and nine
federations
represented 107,400 workers. Unions are free to organize;
however, the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) of 1973
restricts
some of their activities, including the right to strike.
The IRA
also created the National Remuneration Board, composed of
government ministers, union leaders, and employer
representatives, to resolve wage disputes brought to its
attention. This board, however, cannot institute hearing
procedures, and most wage settlements take their lead from
the
annual settlement between the government and public sector
employees. Civil servants are unionized but have no right
to
strike. Collective bargaining is limited to the stronger
labor
unions, such as the dockworkers' union.
Data as of August 1994
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