The promise was made during the mandate of the previous government. It should become a reality under the present regime. The latter has reviewed the original version of the Equal Opportunities Bill – for the better! The new version covers more areas than the previous one in its objective to stop discrimination based not only on sex, race, family status, religion, origin and disability but also on sexual orientation and physical appearance. However, it is not clear yet whether the new bill will cover discriminations linked to caste and political convictions.

As soon as the law is enforced, employers will have to be careful that recruitment is based exclusively on merit – what appears as obvious is not always so. Local airline company, Air Mauritius, has a lead on this particular issue. Since October last year, we have adopted this issue in our politics of recruitment, promotion and transfer of employees”, revealed the chairman, Sanjay Buckory. This means that “whoever applies for a job at Air Mauritius or for a promotion within the organization will be judged according to his/her merits and qualifications. In other words, any applicant will not be judged according to his/her sex, the community he/she belongs to and, above all, his/her political preferences,” he further explained. All companies will soon have to abide by the same regulations.

<B>Feeling of security</B>

According to Sanjay Buckory, Mauritian companies should benefit a lot from the implementation of such regulations in the long run. “It can help create a feeling of security inside and outside the organization. Besides, it can have other positive effects on the long-term future of the company such as the financial report, because the investor might feel more willing to trust the company.”

If the manager of a company decides not to employ Mr X, the latter will have the right to ask the manager for more information about the skills or experience of the person who finally obtains the job. The working conditions and the chances for a promotion should also be the same for everyone. For instance, a difference between the salaries of a man and a woman doing exactly the same job will be illegal. Of course, the bill condemns sexual harassment as well.

The equal opportunities bill will also make sure that the rights of students are respected. Admissions should not be based on discriminatory criteria; likewise, students should not be refused admission if it is based on the student’s status.

Of course, there will be situations where there are exceptions. The bill makes provisions for a certain number of jobs where specificities of one or the other sex are necessary. Likewise, girls won’t be allocated a place in a boys’ school and vice versa.

Mauritian society could be shaken by one particular aspect of the bill. The conditions of admission to certain private clubs are reviewed. Associations set up “for sporting cultural or leisure activities” will no longer be authorised to admit only people with a specific status.

Many associations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have been complaining of not being asked to participate in the making of the bill. Pils had asked for a copy of the bill to study it and bring additional proposals but it has not obtained any response yet. Likewise, Arc-en-Ciel, which fights against homophobia and discrimination based on sexual orientation, regrets that it has not received a copy of the bill, as promised by the attorney general.

But the government has promised that it will make sure the bill is circulated for a month to “fill in the gaps” and bring in additional proposals to ensure that the bill comes up to public expectations.

The equal opportunities bill was part of the government’s electoral manifesto. During a workshop on sexual discrimination at the University of Mauritius, last July, the attorney general declared that the bill would become a reality in September.

The bill is not about abiding by specific quotas but rather making sure someone is employed only because of his/her competences – and that his/her status doesn’t prevent him/her from being recruited. It has taken more time than expected; but such an important bill is worth the waiting if the little ‘imperfections’ of the text… are taken care of and if it is applied to the letter…