Government has approved the first ever scheme of service for Seychelles Public Transport Corporation's (SPTC) bus drivers, which will cost the company R3.2 million annually to implement.

Despite this R277,000 monthly hike in SPTC's operation costs, however, the public will not have to pay more in fares because government will continue its subvention to the corporation.

The new scheme of service is the result of one year's consultations between the drivers, SPTC management, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment as well as the Ministry of Administration and Manpower. They worked in the presence of a mediator, with whom they collectively came up with the scheme.

It adjusts the drivers' salaries, creating two bands which will allow the more senior drivers to be rewarded for their long service.

"Salaries of drivers who have served for 15 years will automatically go up by about R700," SPTC's managing director, Mr Daniel Gappy, said on Friday November 28.

"The scheme also caters for an upward adjustment of an average of R690 increase per month for all drivers," he said, explaining that there are drivers who will get up to R1,300 per month above what they are currently earning.

The drivers will also be paid during breaks for example when they fuel their vehicles and after-trip rest periods. The latter were not previously catered for and have been increased from 10 to 15 minutes. Instead of five minutes, drivers will now be allowed 15 minutes to check their buses before starting their journeys.

Because of these time adjustments, SPTC will have to re-adjust its schedules and to employ more drivers, a process which the company's management said will take time.

"For that reason, it will not be possible to implement the scheme immediately, and it will come into force in February 2004," SPTC's managing director, Mr Gappy said.

Between now and that time, SPTC will continue to pay the drivers a R1,000 monthly allowance for working "unreasonable and unfavourable hours" which MSAE asked the corporation to pay after the drivers complained about the working hours. SPTC started paying the allowance on November 1, 2002 with the understanding it would continue paying that amount for six months or until the matter was otherwise resolved, as it has now, through the scheme.

The drivers will continue to get a 30 cents commission on every ticket they sell, whether it be of R2.00 or R3.00 value and their bonus has been increased by 6.6 percent. They will also get extra uniforms, and SPTC will now be meeting the cost of annual medical examinations, which are a new feature because the drivers were being examined only upon enrolment and once every three years.

Drivers who operate 50 seater buses will now also get the R400 allowance previously given to those driving 60 seater buses.

SPTC drivers will become the only ones in government employment to have a specific scheme. A committee has already met the drivers to explain to them about the new scheme and the reasoning behind its structure. The scheme is due to be reviewed after three years and SPTC has said it will honour any upward adjustments which might be agreed upon at that time.

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