afrol News, 2 September - President Aneerood Jugnauth of Mauritius has been asked to refrain from signing the two new bills passed by the parliament last week.

A coalition of trade unions aruged that the Employment Relations and the Employment Rights bills promote flexible work at the expense of decent work. They said the bills also demand overtime without a decent salary.

The president of General Trade Union Federation (GTUF), Pottaya Kuppan told a news conference in the capital Port Louis fundamental changes to the existing labour laws will have negative effects on the working conditions of present and future workers.

The Mauritian government was earlier asked by the International Labour Organisation to engage trade unions in constructuve negotiations before passing the bills.

A representative of the General Workers Federation Serge Jauffrey has called on all trade unions in the country to unite in the fight against the unfriendly labour laws.

It remains to be seen whether Aneerood Jugnauth would follow the footsteps of the former president Cassam Uteem and bow down to the trade union pressures. Mr. Uteem had succumbed to pressures mounted by civil society groups and rescinded to sign the 2005 Terrorism Act, believed to have targeted Mauritius' Muslim community.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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