Saturday 25th of July 2020, trade unionist Sharvin Sunassee has been dismissed from his work by his employer Airports of Mauritius Ltd. Sharvin Sunassee was the President of the Airports of Mauritius Ltd. Employees Union (AMLEU) and has been the target of various acts of intimidation by his employer.

According to unionists from various sectors, this dismissal amounts to union retaliation specially when the disciplinary committee, chaired by a former magistrate, ignored dispute from Sharvin’s representative about the illegality of this disciplinary committee.

Sharvin Sunassee indeed obtained an order from the Supreme Court to which AML never responded and that the disciplinary committee ignored. When he proved the accusation from AML wrong, news charges popped-up and retaliation measures continued with an instrumentalized disciplinary committee…

The chairperson of the disciplinary committee, Ms. Marylou Soopramanien is being paid by the employer to chair this committee… Sharvin Sunnassee has proven an ardent and fearless unionist that has clearly been the target of nominated potentates managing the Airports of Mauritius Ltd. His case, is a high profile one because it is an attempt to trade union rights. Those rights were obtained in 1938 after massive social unrest at time when Mauritius was still under British administration.

Those events are taking place at a moment where workers of Mauritius are facing difficult time in relation with the COVID-19 pandemic. On the 11th of July some 10,000 people expressed their anger, on the street, against government administration of the whole crisis. Sharvin Sunassee is a member of the Kolektif Konversasion Solider that triggered the massive demonstration of the 11th of July.