The Mauritius Labour Ministry and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) for labour migration and the Job Management System respectively, yesterday, June 17, 2014, in Port-Louis.
Labour minister Shakeel Mohamed and the head of IOM, Mauritius, Lalini Veerassamy, signed the agreements on behalf of their respective organisations.
The MoUs were formulated in light of the recommendations of a study on the employment services of the Mauritius Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment, carried out by consultants from Pôle Emploi, Reunion Island, to help the ministry to enhance its service offering.
The first MoU on labour migration outlines the basis for cooperation in the implementation of programmes that contribute to the management of labour migration for both Mauritian citizens and foreign workers coming to Mauritius.
On the other hand, the second agreement highlights each party’s responsibilities in the running of the job management system, which has been developed as an interactive website to cater for the online registration and matching of jobseekers and employers, as well as for gathering data on the Mauritian labour market.
In his address, the labour minister spoke of the good working relationship between the IOM and the government in the implementation of joint labour migration projects.
“Circular migration is a win-win programme that helps countries learn from each other,” Shakeel Mohamed said.
He also lauded the progress achieved in the area of circular migration and pointed out that his ministry and the IOM have embarked on several migration projects in other countries besides Canada.
He further evoked the setting up of a unit at the level of his ministry to engage the Mauritian Diaspora, an issue which was raised by the General Director of the IOM in Geneva during the 103rd Session of the International Labour Conference.
For her part, Lalini Veerassamy reiterated the continuous support of the IOM to Mauritius since the implementation of the circular migration programme in 2007.
“The IOM has been providing technical support to the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment for the development and implementation of labour migration projects and has also helped in carrying out market assessments and promotion missions to identify employment, placement and training opportunities in targeted countries in need of foreign labour,” she noted.
It may be recalled that, so far, around 435 Mauritians have been placed in Canada under the circular migration programmes. In addition, a batch of 13 hairdressers left the shores of the island economy yesterday to work in Canada.
Finally, regarding foreign workers in Mauritius, the country presently counts some 40,000 workers from overseas, hailing largely from Bangladesh, India and China.
Image: Labour minister Shakeel Mohamed and the head of IOM, Mauritius, Lalini Veerassamy, signed the agreements on behalf of their respective organisations.
More business news on AfricaMoney
Facebook Comments