Trade Unionism Extends to the Police Force in Mauritius

Abstract

A milestone is achieved in the history of trade unionism in the Republic of Mauritius. Having since long deplored the absence of a trade union within their organisation, the police force is now granted by the National Assembly the right to be unionised under the voting of the Police Membership of Trade Union Bill (No XXVIII of 2016). This bill is something new to trade unionism in the island since police officers were never given any opportunity to be grouped as a union. The proclamation of the bill followed by the voting of the Act will develop an opportunity to widen trade unionism in the public sector while encouraging greater freedom of participation and democracy within the employee relations climate.  This stems from previous bold moves undertaken by subsequent governments that allowed special sectors like the Fire and the Prison services to be previously unionised as they were themselves not considered to be liable of unionisation earlier.  This research work briefly depicts the extension of trade unionism from a historical point of view, the conditions that limited trade unionism to ‘sensitive’ sectors of public sector management and the benefits of extending trade unionism to the police sector in Mauritius.

Keywords: Trade unionism, Police force, Mauritius, Employee relations.