Introduction of Private Recruitment Agencies Bill 2023 to Regulate Recruitment of Local and Foreign Workers

The provisions of the Private Recruitment Agencies Bill 2023, presented by the Minister of Labour, Soodesh Callichurn, will regularize the recruitment of local workers and also expatriates through duly registered and mandated agencies
The main objective of this Private Recruitment Agencies Bill is to repeal the Recruitment of Workers Act and replace it with a new, more appropriate legislative framework and thus put in place a new structure for the recruitment of local and foreign workers.

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The existing legislation, which was enacted a few years ago, although it has stood the test of time, needs a facelift, with crucial changes not least due to the increasing mobility of workers, coming from several parts of the world.

Therefore, the new law should consolidate and strengthen the law relating to the recruitment of Mauritians for local and overseas employment as well as expatriates in Mauritius. As a result, with the introduction of this new legislative framework, the Minister is given more powers with regard to the regulation of worker recruitment activities.

The line ministry should keep abreast of new developments and challenges in this area. The PRA Bill takes into account the standards and ethics of recruitment in accordance with the recommendations of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

As soon as this law is enacted after the debates and the vote in Parliament, it will be mandatory to hold a license to operate a recruitment agency to be able to hire a worker in Mauritius or abroad, the law covering both local workers and expatriates.

The PRA Bill should prohibit a person holding a foreign license from recruiting workers in Mauritius. The new legislation will prohibit the recruitment of a non-citizen worker, other than a resident-non-citizen worker, who is already employed in Mauritius with another employer in Mauritius or for employment abroad.
Thus, it will be prohibited for anyone to do Marketing, Canvassing, advertising or carry out any other activity with a view to recruiting a worker if he does not hold a license as a private recruitment agency, as well as misleading advertisements inciting the illicit recruitment of workers.

It is provided that no one may charge a worker for costs related to his recruitment and that these, including his travels, are the responsibility of his employer. The supervising ministry gives itself more powers with regard to the modification, suspension and revocation of a license for the recruitment of workers.

Therefore, the new law does not apply to a person, including an employer, who directly recruits a local worker or a foreign national to work for him, in accordance with the guidelines that may be issued by the ministry. The recruitment agency will not be able to recruit a foreign national, who holds a work permit or Occupational Permit with an employer in Mauritius or abroad.

No recruitment agency or private employer, including an employer, shall charge the worker for any remuneration in connection with their recruitment and the worker shall pass on to the employer such fees as may be prescribed. The same constraints apply to travel expenses or other trips abroad.

With the new mechanism that will be put in place, anyone who intends to manage a private recruitment agency must apply to the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Labour. No applications are accepted unless the private recruitment agency is a duly registered company under the Companies Act.
Any private recruitment agency must, at least 90 days before the expiry of its license, address a request to the Permanent Secretary for the renewal of the permit.

All “licensees” should be able to provide the ministry with all the information concerning the workers falling under their responsibility. No private recruitment agency should employ key personnel to work for them if they have been convicted of fraud or otherwise, or the license will be revoked. In the event that a foreign worker becomes incapable or is found, following a medical examination, to be unfit for work, he will be repatriated to his country of residence at the expense of the recruitment agency.