During his Private Notice Question, addressed to the Minister of Labour, Xavier-Luc Duval first demanded that the government legislate for the payment of the 14th month to those whose salary does not exceed Rs 50,000. Then, in view of Soodesh Callichurn’s reply, he insisted on knowing when the government was going to hold consultations. But the minister made no commitment on the subject.
In his opening response, Minister Soodesh Callichurn spoke at length about the measures in place to compensate for the loss of purchasing power. But the Leader of the Opposition quickly returned to the issue of the 14th month. “Do you intend to legislate to make the payment of a 14th month bonus mandatory?” he asked.
It was after a few more questions that the Minister of Labour made his position clear on the 14th month. “We cannot just legislate. We need to have consultations first. Moreover, there are some aspects to consider as the capacity of firms to pay,” Soodesh Callichurn said.
Her even mentioned the fact that some companies pay this bonus when they make a profit. Xavier-Luc Duval called for this to be made compulsory. In the last part, he insisted on knowing when the government intended to hold consultations on the payment of the 14th month.
It should be remembered that the session was marked by a virulent exchange between Sooroojdev Phokeer and Xavier-Luc Duval.
