Section 6: Membership of Council

6. Membership of Council (1) The Council shall, subject to section 14 (4), consist of not more than 24 Councillors, from different groups as follows— (a) 5 Councillors from workers’ organisations nominated or appointed as specified in subsection (2); (b) 5 Councillors from business organisations, of whom 4 shall be nominated by the Joint Economic Council; (c) 8 Councillors from civil society, of whom— (i) one shall be nominated by the Mauritius Council of Social Service (MACOSS) from among its member organisations; (ii) one shall be nominated by the National Women’s Council from among its member organisations; (iii) one shall be a person above the age of 60, nominated by the Senior Citizens Council; (iv) one shall be nominated by the National Youth Council from youth organisations; (v) 4 shall be appointed by the Minister, to ensure contribution from the academia and other specialists in various fields, in the light of the relevant issues at stake at the time of their appointment; (d) the Head of the Civil Service; (e) the Financial Secretary; (f) the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry responsible for the subject of social security; (g) the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry responsible for the subject of labour; (ga) the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry responsible for the subject of social integration and economic empowerment; (h) the Island Chief Executive of the Rodrigues Regional Assembly, or his representative. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1) (a)— (a) “workers’ organisations” shall be deemed to refer to the 4 most representative federations of trade unions duly registered under the Employment Relations Act, each of which shall nominate from among itself one Councillor; N15 – 3 [Issue 4] National Economic and Social Council Act (b) the fifth Councillor for each of the 2 groups shall be appointed by the Minister, taking into consideration the need to ensure adequate representation from the different components thereof. (3) Where no nomination is made for any reason whatsoever under subsection (1), the Minister may proceed with an appointment so that the numerical membership of the Council is in conformity with that subsection. (4) No person actively engaged in party politics shall be eligible to be a Councillor. (5) Without prejudice to subsection (4), any person who— (a) is a candidate, agent or official of a candidate at an election; or (b) is an employee of a political party, shall be deemed to be actively engaged in party politics. (6) The Councillors shall, subject to section 7, hold office for a period of 3 years and may be reappointed for further periods of 3 years. (7) The Councillors shall elect from among themselves a Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson for the duration of their period of office. (8) The first Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson appointed under subsection (7) shall be appointed for a period of 18 months, and that appointment shall be renewable for a further period of 18 months. (9) The Councillors shall be guided in the performance of their functions under this Act by national interest and shall express views from a macroperspective, although they may consult their respective organisations on major issues. (10) The Councillors may be paid such fees and allowances and given such facilities as may be determined by the Minister from time to time. (11) The quorum of the Council shall be 12. [S. 6 amended by s. 3 of Act 7 of 2004; s. 24 of Act 17 of 2007 w.e.f. 22 August 2007; s. 22 of Act 20 of 2011 w. uided in the performance of their functions under this Act by national interest and shall express views from a macroperspective, although they may consult their respective organisations on major issues. (10) The Councillors may be paid such fees and allowances and given such facilities as may be determined by the Minister from time to time. (11) The quorum of the Council shall be 12. [S. 6 amended by s. 3 of Act 7 of 2004; s. 24 of Act 17 of 2007 w.e.f. 22 August 2007; s. 22 of Act 20 of 2011 w.e.f. 16 July 2011.]