4 – Systematic violations of rights
The ITUC Global Rights Index

Fiji

The ITUC affiliate in Fiji is the Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC).

In practice

Browse by:

Minister for local government undermines collective agreements30-06-2021

In June 2021, the minister for local government announced that some councils were struggling financially. Her solution was to undermine the conditions agreed in their collective agreements and unilaterally impose fixed-term contracts on council workers with lesser salaries and benefits.
The FTUC pointed out that the collective agreements had existed between the unions and the councils for more than five decades and had survived the test of time. They contain terms and conditions of work that were negotiated and agreed to by councils and unions through collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
. They had served well until the government decided to remove business license fees and then reduce benefits for workers to balance the shortfall.
The FTUC added that the poor performance of the councils, as noted in the Auditor General’s Report of 2014-2017, was a direct result of mismanagement by the government.
In a press release condemning the government’s actions, the FTUC called on the minister to clarify whether her ministry is committed to complying with the core labour standards of the ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
and, in particular, Conventions 87 and 98.

Union denied permit to march on May Day01-05-2021

The Fijian police denied the Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC) a permit to march and hold a rally in Suva on 1st May 2021. No reason was given in writing, but the FTUC was told verbally that there was concern about the COVID-19 pandemic. No restrictions were being applied to other gatherings, such as sports and other recreational activities, however.
The FTUC were convinced the reasons were political, as it was the sixth occasion on which a permit to march had been denied. In its view, it was because the government did not wish to see any opposition to its policies regarding workers and human rights.
For the last six years, the FTUC had been campaigning, amongst other things, for a decent minimum wage, against the imposition of individual contracts on civil servants and teachers and workers in government owned entities, for workers’ right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
, and for a review of labour legislation.

Despite the government giving repeated assurances to the ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
and the UN Human Rights Council of its full respect for workers and human rights, it seemly had no intention of honouring its commitments. The ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
Committee of Experts had called on the government to allow workers the right of assembly and peaceful protest, yet the government was again refusing permission.

Migrant seafarers sacked for trying to talk to union 28-02-2021

In February 2021, Goundar Shipping, a major Fijian ferry company, sacked three Filipino seafarers after they said they wanted to take leave to travel to speak to union representatives about their rights and how they could get home.

They were among a group of more than 20 Filipino seafarers brought to Fiji to operate and maintain its fleet of passenger and cargo ferries after having received promises of decent wages and conditions. When they arrived, the company informed the seafarers that they would be paid 60-70 per cent less than what they were promised.
With many of the seafarers unable to afford return tickets, they agreed to stay on with the company after they were given fresh promises of repatriation following an additional year of work. The company then said that flights and quarantine costs were too expensive due to COVID and refused to honour its obligations to get the seafarers home.
The seafarers had reported their difficulties to labour authorities in September 2020 and made official complaints with the police and immigration in December 2020. When they received no response, another police complaint was made on 5 January in the presence of the seafarers’ legal team. In February, Fijian government officials denied that they had received complaints.
By that time they had been in Fiji for 18 months longer than their initial contracts and were desperate to get home – hence, the request for three of them to meet with union representatives about their rights, which led to their being fired.
Under pressure from trade unions, notably the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), the Fijian police did eventually launch an investigation into human trafficking claims, and Goundar Shipping did reluctantly agree to arrange flights home. It would not, however, pay for quarantine and PCR tests.

Felix Anthony to return to court 04-02-2020

The Fiji government’s case against trade union leader Felix Anthony returns to court next month. The general secretary of the National Workers Union is charged with malicious behaviour under the Public Order Act. 
The government has alleged that, in April 2019, Mr Anthony knowingly told a journalist false news related to the expiry of workers’ contracts at the Water Authority. The state also alleges that this information was intended to create public anxiety. 
Mr Anthony has pleaded not guilty. In May last year, more than 2000 workers’ contracts were terminated by the authority, which led to protests and the arrest of trade unionists and union members including Mr Anthony. 

Fiji government suspends five unions 04-02-2020

The Fiji government has suspended five trade unions for failing to submit their annual audited reports. It said the unions also faced penalties and deregistration if they continued to fail to comply with legislation. According to the Registrar of Trade Unions, the unions “were given ample time to submit their financial records”. 
The five suspended unions are the Hot Bread Kitchen Employees Trade Union, the Fiji Maritime Workers Association, the Viti National Union of I-taukei Workers, BPSS Co Limited Workers and Carpenters Group of Salaries Association and the I-taukei land Trust Board Workers Union. 
The Fijian law does not provide for sufficient guarantees for trade union organisations to operate without undue interference by the authorities. The suspension of five unions illustrates once again the incompliance of the national laws with international standards. 

Further harassment as FTUC leader arrested again 02-09-2019

The national secretary of the Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC), Mr Felix Anthony, was taken into police custody on 27 June 2019 from his home in Lautoka.  The police informed Mr Anthony that his arrest was related to pending inquiries and that their orders had come from Suva.  The family was informed that he was being taken to Suva and asked to pack an overnight bag. 
After meeting with an FTUC lawyer at the Lautoka Courthouse cell block, Mr Anthony was removed by Suva police and then driven to Suva. He was held at the Criminal Investigations Department Headquarters to be questioned further on the dispute over the terminations at the Water Authority of Fiji. The FTUC was informed that Mr Anthony was being charged with alleged breach of the Public Order Act 1969. Mr Anthony is alleged to have made false statements to a reporter in relation to the expiry of employment contracts for workers at the Water Authority of Fiji, “which tended to create or foster public anxiety”. 
Mr Anthony was later released on bail pending an initial court appearance on 15 August. On 2 September, Felix Anthony appeared in the Suva Magistrates Court, where he pleaded not guilty to a charge of malicious conduct to foster public anxiety. If convicted, he could be fined up to US$2,500 and imprisoned for three years. His case was adjourned until the end of the month. 
The minister for employment productivity and industrial relations industrial relations The individual and collective relations and dealings between workers and employers at the workplace, as well as the institutional interaction between unions, employers and also the government.

See social dialogue
, Praveen Bala, claimed that they had not interfered in any way with trade unions or conduct of their activities, a view the FTUC strongly disputed.  

Police again decline permit for trade union protest march 10-08-2019

Fiji’s police yet again denied permission to the Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC) to hold a protest march. 
The FTUC said no reason has been given for the application for a march on Saturday 10 August being refused. 
During the march the unions had planned to address the ongoing harassment against workers and unionists. They also wanted to address other issues including the national minimum wage, right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
, labour law reforms, and imposition of individual contracts as well as issues related to the Federated Airline Staff Association, and workers at the Vatukoula mine. 

Fiji government still undermining collective bargaining and organising rights 30-06-2019

Speaking at the International Labour Conference (ILC) in June 2019, Rajeshwar Singh, general secretary of Fiji’s Public Service Association, explained how collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
rights had been undermined since all public services in Fiji had been classified as essential services essential services Services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population. Can include the hospital sector, electricity and water supply services, and air traffic control. Strikes can be restricted or even prohibited in essential services.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
, removing their right to take industrial action industrial action Any form of action taken by a group of workers, a union or an employer during an industrial dispute to gain concessions from the other party, e.g. a strike, go-slow or an overtime ban, or a lockout on the part of the employer.
He explained how the Confederation of Public Sector Unions (CPSU) had been trying since 2017 to register as a federation under the Employment Relations (Amendment) Act, but was being prevented from doing so, in direct contravention of the right to organise. 
Taking a recent example, he noted that in March 2019 the Arbitration arbitration A means of resolving disputes outside the courts through the involvement of a neutral third party, which can either be a single arbitrator or an arbitration board. In non-binding arbitration, the disputing parties are free to reject the third party’s recommendation, whilst in binding arbitration they are bound by its decision. Compulsory arbitration denotes the process where arbitration is not voluntarily entered into by the parties, but is prescribed by law or decided by the authorities.

See conciliation, mediation
Court ordered striking Fiji Airports Limited’s Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) to return to work. Soon after the decision of the Court, the executive chairman of the company suspended 22 ATC staff. As a supposedly transitional condition, the amended Essential National Industries decree 2014 terminated their collective agreement and required negotiations between the ATC staff and Airports Fiji Limited on a new agreement. By June 2019 the ATC officers still did not have a formal contract. 
The ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
itself was also very critical of the Fijian government and its failure to implement reforms agreed with it in 2016. It also warned the government against the ongoing harassment and detention of trade unionists. 
The Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC) noted that it had been four years since the government signed a joint implementation report to address labour law reform issues and essential national industries issues and provide the unions with an equal seat at the table, yet nothing had been done. The FTUC pointed to the recent example of the Water Authority, which terminated more than 2,000 workers’ contracts in May, leading to protests and the subsequent arrest of trade unionist leaders and members. 

Unions refused permission for protest march 04-05-2019

Fiji trade unionists had to call off a mass protest planned for 3 May 2019 in the wake of a police clampdown that saw more than 30 people arrested. 
A protest march had also been planned on Saturday 4 May, but the Fiji Transport Authority refused to issue a permit, saying it would impede the safe movement of traffic. The union felt it had been left with no choice because the police were refusing to allow people to gather at any one place, including private properties, such as union properties. 

Trade union leaders arrested 03-05-2019

Felix Anthony, national secretary of the Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC), was arrested on 1 May 2019, along with some 30 other trade unionists. Mr Anthony was taking part in a tripartite meeting with government, employer and International Labour Organization representatives in Suva when police entered the conference room and detained him. The general secretaries of the Fijian Teachers’ Association and Fiji Nurses’ Union and the Lautoka industrial officer of the National Union of Workers were also among those arrested in the course of the day. 
The government’s actions seem to be aimed in the first instance at stopping a public demonstration planned for the coming days in defence of workers at the Water Authority of Fiji, and to prevent Felix Anthony from representing 28 of those workers at a 2 May court hearing. 
The arrests also coincided with the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank, which Fiji hosted from 1 to 5 May. Unions had planned a series of nationwide demonstrations and events to coincide with the summit. They wanted to draw attention to a number of issues, including the minimum wage, labour law reforms, and the right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
, as well as the major dispute at the Water Authority of Fiji, which had seen hundreds of workers laid off amidst a rise in temporary work. The arrested trade unionists were questioned over the FTUC’s call for a nationwide protest on 3 May and a march planned for Saturday 4 May. 
Felix Anthony was released without charge after 48 hours, but the repression of the trade unionists continued. The arrested workers were released on bail after surrendering their passports and being charged with unlawful assembly, while executive committee members of other FTUC affiliates were instructed by the police to attend interviews. 

Police search union headquarters 02-05-2019

On 2 May 2019, Fiji police searched the Suva headquarters of the Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC) whilst its national secretary Felix Anthony was still being held in custody. 
Mr Anthony had been arrested the previous day amid protests over job losses at the country’s water utility company and ahead of planned protests on a number of labour issues over the coming weekend. The FTUC board had been holding a meeting to discuss the prospects for the protests to go ahead, which was interrupted during the search. 
There seemed to be no valid grounds for the search, beyond dissuasion or intimidation. The unions had applied for a permit to hold their march and rally, as required by Fijian law. 

Suspended by town council for union activity 19-10-2018

Lautoka City Council suspended its health services manager, Rouhit Karan Singh, on 19 October 2018 for “engaging in non-council functions during normal working hours”. It was alleged that he was carrying out union activities during working time. Rouhit is also national president of the Fiji Local Government Association.
It later emerged that he was suspended for raising the issue of Lautoka City Council’s decision not to negotiate with the union in the media. The Fiji Trades Union Congress condemned his suspension and the investigation into Mr Singh’s activities as anti-union discrimination anti-union discrimination Any practice that disadvantages a worker or a group of workers on grounds of their past, current or prospective trade union membership, their legitimate trade union activities, or their use of trade union services. Can constitute dismissal, transfer, demotion, harassment and the like.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework

and an attempt to instil fear in council workers.

National centre repeatedly denied permission to hold union rally 29-09-2018

In September 2018 the Fiji Trades Union Congress was informed that its application to organise a march in Suva on 29 September had been denied. It was the second time in the year that permission had been refused.
On the previous occasion, Suva City Council told the FTUC it could not use Sukuna Park to hold a rally planned for 24 February 2018 because Coca-Cola had been granted permission host a promotion there. When the FTUC pointed out that it had applied earlier than Coca-Cola, the council seemingly relented but would only grant permission to use the park if the Fiji Police Force agreed. At the last minute, the police wrote a one-line letter to deny the permit.
In September the Suva City Council informed the FTUC that Sukuna Park had recently been zoned as a recreational park and it would therefore not allow a rally unless the FTUC sought permission from the Local Government Ministry. It was again the police who made the final decision and refused permission.
The purpose of the rallies was to have highlighted trade union demands concerning the minimum wage, collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
, the right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
, tripartism tripartism The principle of involvement of and interaction between three parties having equal status, namely the social partners and the government.

See social dialogue, International Labour Organization
, the Labour Law review and the Air Terminal Services dispute. Attempts to raise those issues at the Employment Relations Advisory Board had fallen on deaf ears, said the FTUC.

Government workers denied collective bargaining rights 26-09-2018

The Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC) reported in September 2018 that individual contracts were still being imposed on civil servants, teachers and nurses, and on workers in government-owned entities and banks. Such contracts can be revoked with just one month’s notice, leaving workers in a very vulnerable position. However, workers felt forced to sign such contracts for fear of being victimised or their employment terminated.
The Fiji Public Services Association added its voice to the FTUC’s remarks, saying public sector unions were being targeted to weaken the voice of their members.
Back in February 2018, the FTUC condemned statements attributed to the local government minister Praveen Bala stating that Councils will not deal with trade unions and will deal with workers directly, referring to unions as “third parties”. The FTUC pointed out that none of Fiji’s Municipal Councils had signed a collective agreement with the unions despite many attempts by unions to do so.

Harassment of trade union leader continues25-01-2018

The General Secretary of the Fiji Trade Union Congress (FTUC) Felix Anthony was taken in for questioning by police on 24 January 2018 after he addressed a rally in support of Air Terminal Services (ATS) employees who had been locked out by their employer for over a month. The police accused him of “sabotaging the economy”, an offence under the Public Order Act. He was again questioned on 25 January and then released.

The accusations were apparently based on the fact that in his speech to the rally Mr Anthony had raised the possibility of a national strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
if the dispute were to continue. The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) described Mr Anthony’s interrogation as a process of deliberate intimidation.

Airport suspends workers without pay for raising legitimate grievances16-12-2017

Members of Federated Airline Staff Association (FASA) were locked out on 16 December 2017 by Air Terminal Services (ATS) after they returned from a shareholders’ meeting. Workers have a 49 per cent shareholding in Air Terminal Services with 51 per cent belonging to the Fijian government.
Ground crew at Nadi International Airport – including baggage handlers, check-in staff, engineers and caterers – had attended an urgent meeting to raise concerns regarding mismanagement, appalling conditions, sexual harassment and an 11-year pay freeze. The union believes it and its members were being targeted for highlighting the company’s poor management by the Chief Executive Officer. A total of 220 workers were suspended without pay.
After a strong international campaign in support of the workers, on 20 January 2018 the Fijian Employment Relations Tribunal ordered an end to the lockout lockout A form of industrial action whereby an employer refuses work to its employees or temporarily shuts down operations. and the return to work of all Air Terminal Services (ATS) employees.

The Tribunal also ordered that all pay and entitlements from the time of the lockout lockout A form of industrial action whereby an employer refuses work to its employees or temporarily shuts down operations. be restored. The FASA welcomed the decision and workers were happy to return, but the union noted their original grievances had yet to be addressed.

Authorities seek to undermine the firefighters’ union01-10-2016

The National Fire Authority (NFA), a government statutory body responsible for the fire services, sought to undermine the free and independent union independent union A trade union that is not affiliated to a national union. Can also be a union that is not dominated by an employer.

See yellow union

representing firefighters and other public sector workers, the Fiji Public Service Association, by setting up an “in-house” union, whose members included managers and volunteer firefighters, the Fire Service Union (FSU).

When the FPSA tried to negotiate a 15 per cent pay rise for firefighters in October 2016, rather than enter into negotiations, the NFA coerced some firefighters into joining the FSU. Individual firefighters on temporary contracts said that they were offered higher wages and the promise of permanent employment if they signed over to the FSU. Those that were in acting positions were advised that they would only be confirmed in their appointments if they joined the in-house union.

It was also reported that the FSU was having “union” dues deducted from workers’ pay, despite the leadership not being elected and the union not being registered. If true, that would be against the law, but although the Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations industrial relations The individual and collective relations and dealings between workers and employers at the workplace, as well as the institutional interaction between unions, employers and also the government.

See social dialogue
was informed, no action was taken.

This was in stark contrast to a decision earlier in 2016 by the NFA to withhold the check-off check-off A system where union dues and fees are automatically deducted by the employer from the workers’ paychecks and then remitted to the respective union. of union dues for members of the FPSA, at a time when all other statutory authorities and government entities restored check-off check-off A system where union dues and fees are automatically deducted by the employer from the workers’ paychecks and then remitted to the respective union. . Check-off check-off A system where union dues and fees are automatically deducted by the employer from the workers’ paychecks and then remitted to the respective union. was later reinstated following complaints and the intervention of the Minister of Local Government.

Forest Stewardship Council turns blind eye to denial of union rights in state-owned forestry companies29-08-2016

On 29 August 2016, nearly two years after a complaint filed by the ITUC and the Building and Woodworkers International Union (BWI) about the suppression of trade union rights at three state-owned forestry companies, Fiji Pine, Tropik Wood Industries, and Tropik Wood Products, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) announced its decision to maintain its association with all three, thereby condoning their anti-union practices.

The complaint concerned the decision by the then Government of Fiji to extend the Essential National Industries (ENI) decree to cover the forestry industry, just as workers were about to go on strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
. The decree replaced the existing trade unions in the sector with “non-union bargaining units”, and made strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
action almost impossible to undertake legally. The complaint noted that the decision violated the workers’ rights to freedom of association freedom of association The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
and collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
. The ITUC and BWI also warned that there were serious procedural failures in reaching the decision from the outset. Since then, the FSC has made no demands of the forestry companies concerned to change their behaviour or bargain in good faith.

Employment Relations Amendment Act approved31-03-2016

After the approval of the new Employment Relations Amendment Act (ERP) 2016, an act of retaliation happened in Nadi: a worker was suspended for handing out forms to his fellow workers to join a trade union. The company concerned, Tolls Construction Fiji Ltd, stated that the worker, Manueli Yawayawa, had breached company policy by not informing management of his intention to form a trade union. Manager Luke Mataika said Mr Yawayawa had also interfered with work being carried out on the Vunabaka project on Malolo Island in the Mamanuca Group. According to the enterprise those were the actions that led to Mr Yawayawa’s expulsion from the island.

Suspended for organising06-03-2016

In March 2016 Toll Constructions Fiji Ltd suspended Manueli Yawayawa for trying to organise a union. He was handing out union membership forms to his 200 colleagues when management told him to leave. The employer claimed he was suspended for interrupting work. Mr. Yawayawa pointed out that the workers had a number of issues with the company, and that negotiating through a union would be in the best interests of the workers.

Tripartite agreement between the Government, Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation and the Fiji Trades Union Congress03-02-2016

Following the ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
mission, the Fiji Government, Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation and the Fiji Trades Union Congress signed an agreement to sign off on a Joint Implementation Report to the International Labour Organisation (ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
). Agreements signed provided among other things: the restoration of the Check-Off check-off A system where union dues and fees are automatically deducted by the employer from the workers’ paychecks and then remitted to the respective union. facilities; the reduction of the notice period for strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
from 28 days to 14 days; invitation to the ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
to provide technical assistance and expertise to determine the list of essential services essential services Services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population. Can include the hospital sector, electricity and water supply services, and air traffic control. Strikes can be restricted or even prohibited in essential services.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
and industries; removal of all references to bargaining units in the ERP (as amended by the Act); and allowing workers to freely join or form a trade union (including an enterprise trade union).

FTUC & FPSA Secretaries expresses to the ILO mission their concerns about the new draft law 25-01-2016

An ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
tripartite mission took place from 25 to 28 January 2016 in Fiji. The National Secretary of Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC) expressed deep concern about the carrying over of elements of the ENID (the discussed Essential National Industries Employment Decree 2011) into the ERP (Employment Relations Promulgation) via the 2015 amendment. In particular, even this new draft law provided the replacement of unions with in-house “bargaining units” in designated corporations for the purposes of collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
. Denying by law the right of workers in bargaining units to seek external support at the bargaining table was a means of weakening their bargaining power. Bargaining units under the ENID were intended, and indeed had been used, to undermine trade unions, and they continued to be promoted in unionised publicly owned industries to that end. The right of workers to form trade unions remained theoretical in view of the pressure and intimidation that are still prevailing at the workplace. Furthermore, the excessive registration fee for newly formed trade unions and the majority requirement for conversion of bargaining units into unions led the FTUC to believe that the ENID continued to have a negative impact on trade.

The General Secretary of Fiji Public Service Association (FPSA) supported the position of the FTUC, and, in addition to that, he denounced the Government’s refusal to engage in collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
, as well as the obstructionism in getting check-off check-off A system where union dues and fees are automatically deducted by the employer from the workers’ paychecks and then remitted to the respective union. restored in a variety of essential national industries and in certain local municipalities and statutory authorities.

Government fails to respond to union amalgamation application 09-06-2015

The Pacific Fishing Employees Union and the Fiji Sugar and General Workers Union have applied for amalgamation. The Registrar of Trade Unions, Mr Taito Waqa, has not responded to the application, instead referring the matter to the Solicitor General. The reasons for this are not clear.

Trade unionists banned from politics 30-04-2015

The Electoral Decree 2014, assented to by the President of Fiji on 28 March 2014, prevents trade union officials from joining or holding office in a political party and from nominating for election to Parliament.

Article 113 of the Electoral Decree explicitly prohibits trade unionists (wrongly deemed public officers) from even conducting political campaign activities. It is also unlawful under the decree to conduct campaign activities or to post or distribute any campaign material inside a trade union office. Any person who violates these provisions may be subject to a $50,000 fine, ten years imprisonment or both.

Article 115 cuts an even wider swath, making it unlawful for any organisation which receives foreign funding or assistance “to engage in, participate in or conduct any campaign (including organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. debates, public forum, meetings, interviews, panel discussions, or publishing any material) that is related to the election or any election issue or matter.” As many civil society organisations within Fiji receive funding or assistance from overseas sources (i.e., foreign governments, the UN, and international NGOs), this provision will have the effect of muzzling nearly all critical voices in the country. Again, any person brave enough to hold a debate on the issues facing the electorate faces a $50,000 fine, ten years’ imprisonment or both. Article 115(2) also appears to bar anyone from conducting any voter education or voter registration drive, unless specifically authorised. It is doubtful that any person or organisation will receive such permission.

The Final Report of the Multinational Observer Group (MOG) on the 2014 Fijian Elections, published in April 2015, expressed concerns about the restrictions placed on trade union officials, as “public officers”, participating in national politics. It notes that while these restrictions do not apply to the Prime Minister, Ministers and Leader of the Opposition, large numbers of Fijians are effectively excluded from the political process. It makes particular reference to the exclusion of trade union officials, stating that “[t]he prohibition on trade union officials being members of political parties is a limitation on political freedom”.

The MOG’s Final Report recommends that this aspect of the Electoral Decree be repealed.

Tripartite agreement signed addressing breaches of ILO Convention 8725-03-2015

On 25 March 2015, the Minister for Employment, Productivity & Industrial Relations industrial relations The individual and collective relations and dealings between workers and employers at the workplace, as well as the institutional interaction between unions, employers and also the government.

See social dialogue
, Jioji K. Konrote; the Chief Executive of Fiji’s Commerce & Employers Federation, Nesbitt D. F. Hazelman; and General-Secretary of Fiji’s Trade Union Congress, Felix Anthony, signed an agreement to use the Employment Relations Promulgation (ERP) as the primary basis for labour management relations in the country.

The agreement followed an ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
Direct Mission to Fiji in November 2014 and a recommendation that a Commission of Inquiry be established to look into a complaint made by workers’ delegates relating to Fiji non-compliance with its obligations under the Freedom of Association freedom of association The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87).

As well as affirming the central role of the ERP in labour relations, the agreement also acknowledges the review of the labour law conducted under the Employment Relations Advisory Board (ERAB) mechanism to ensure compliance with ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
core Conventions. It also provides that any further issues and recommendations identified by the parties shall be raised and negotiated through the ERAB mechanism and commits the Government to restoring check-off check-off A system where union dues and fees are automatically deducted by the employer from the workers’ paychecks and then remitted to the respective union. facilities for union dues.

Charges dropped09-02-2015

In March 2014, the Nadi Magistrates Court terminated the proceedings against trade unionist Daniel Urai and five others who were charged for going on strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
without following the legal procedure.

The six trade unionists, who are members of the National Union of Hospitality Catering and Tourism Industries Employees Union, were charged under the Employment Relations Promulgation in relation to the alleged unlawful strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
at the Sheraton Fiji Resort on 31 December 2013. The Director of Public Prosecutions dropped all charges against the trade unionists after reviewing the facts and evidence.

Fiji Sugar Corporation refuses bargain with representative trade union 31-01-2015

The Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC), the public entity that owns and manages the sugar mills, continues to refuse to bargain with the union or allow union officials access to workplaces in accordance with Article 145 of the Employment Relations Promulgation 2007.

In January 2015, the ITUC, the International Union of Foodworkers (IUF) and Fair Trade International wrote to Prime Minister Bainimarama, stating:

“We remain deeply concerned by the serious restrictions on freedom of association freedom of association The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
and collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
previously decreed by the government, which have been criticized by the International Labour Organization International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
. Further, owning and controlling the Fiji Sugar Corporation, the government has and continues to refuse to recognize the union representing sugar mill workers and has failed to respect their existing collective agreement. This situation has persisted since 2011.

“When workers sought to exercise their right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
over wages, police and military were deployed, and workers reported that they were harassed and intimidated until they were forced to abandon their action. These actions by the government have put at risk the success of sugar cane farmers who today benefit from Fairtrade. An ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
mission to Fiji in October 2014 confirmed serious violations of the right to freedom of association freedom of association The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
, which are having a direct and serious impact on Fijian workers, and urged your government to act.

“In order to commence a fresh start, we respectfully call upon the new Government to address this situation urgently. In particular we would urge that the Government:

1. Consistent with Fiji’s obligations under ratified ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
conventions, and in line with ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
observations, revise laws and decrees so that workers are able to exercise their right to freedom of association freedom of association The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
, to organise and to bargain collectively;

2. Initiate good faith collective negotiations with the trade unions representing sugar mill workers with the aim of reaching a new collective agreement as soon as possible;

3. Resolve the more than 30 disputes in the sugar sector concerning breaches of the collective agreement and unfair disciplinary actions that remain unresolved (some for over five years) before the Employment Relations Tribunal;

4. Reform the new Election Code so that union elections and registration remain with the Registrar of Trade Unions rather than the Election Commission, whose decisions are unreviewable.”

Reappointment of trade unionists not recognised by Government30-11-2014

The Registrar of Trade Unions and Permanent Secretary for Labour, Mr Taito Waqa, refused to recognise the reappointment of Daniel Urai and Felix Anthony in November 2014, following their reappointment to senior positions in key trade unions.

Both Urai and Anthony had resigned from their positions at the Fiji Trades Union Congress in order to contest the General Election in November 2014, as required by Article 154 of the Electoral Decree 2014. Following the election, Urai and Anthony were reappointed by the executives of the relevant trade unions. However, the Registrar of Trade Unions refused to recognise them, instead ordering a due diligence into their reappointments.

Urai was reappointed unopposed to his former position as President of the FTUC, and Anthony was reappointed to his former position as General Secretary of both the FTUC and the Fiji Sugar and General Workers Union.

Government stifles right to freedom of association for public sector employees30-11-2014

The ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
’s Direct Contact Mission to Fiji reported in November 2014 that the Employment Relations (Amendment) Decree 2011 has led to 15,000 government workers being removed from the coverage of the Employment Relations Promulgation. The protections they have been lost include those establishing leave entitlements, maternity protection, trade union rights and the ability to have judicial proceedings.

The Government had also withdrawn union check-off check-off A system where union dues and fees are automatically deducted by the employer from the workers’ paychecks and then remitted to the respective union. facilities, and then restored them only to the extent that workers’ welfare assistance payments (and not union dues) are covered.

Public sector employees report being too scared to engage in union activities out of fear of reprisals from their employer. In many cases, the Government has prevented employees from engaging in union activities, by refusing applications for leave to attend union meetings and training sessions. It also refuses to recognise the Public Service Union, and employees fear that associating with the union will lead to job loss.

This is reported as having had a crippling effect on the Fiji Public Sector Association and the Fijian Teachers’ Association, which have suffered extensive loss of membership as a result.

Intimidation, harassment and arrests of trade union officials31-10-2014

In its August 2014 Report, Fiji: Play Fair: A human rights agenda, Amnesty International reports receiving reports of intimidation, harassment and arrests of trade union officials.

Felix Anthony and Daniel Urai of the FTUC have been arrested and charged with a range of criminal offences - including sedition - for advocating for workers’ rights. Mr Urai was most recently arrested in January 2014 in relation to a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
at the Sheraton Hotel in Nadi. Mr Urai was not involved in that strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
and these charges have since been dropped.

Kenneth Zinck, Daniel Urai and Felix Anthony have all complained to the police about harassment, threats and physical abuse by the military since 2011. The police have failed to investigate these claims. Felix Anthony was physically assaulted by a group of people in 2012. Although he personally reported the beating to the police in 2012, the Criminal Investigations Department took no action in relation to the report for two years.

The decision to finally investigate the assault was taken after the publication of Amnesty International’s Report in August 2014. It coincided with preparations for the ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
’s Direct Contact Mission to Fiji in October 2014 and the General Elections in November 2014, which Mr Anthony was contending as the People’s Democratic Party Leader.

Essential National Industries Decree prevents trade unions functioning: ILO Mission31-10-2014

A 2014 report to the Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
) concludes that the Essential National Industries Decree 2011 (ENID) has made it impossible for trade unions to continue to function in the designated industries.

Among other things, the ENID:

The designated industries are all those considered vital to the national economy or gross domestic product, and to industries in which the Government has a majority and essential interest. These include the financial industry, the telecommunications industry, the civil aviation industry, the public utilities industry, municipal workers, the National Fire Authority and the timber industry.

The Fiji Public service Association (FPSA) reports having lost all of its members in the Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority, Water Authority of Fiji, Airports Fiji Limited, National Fire Authority, Fiji Hardwood Corporation and Nasinu Town Council – amounting to more than 600 members. The union’s check-off check-off A system where union dues and fees are automatically deducted by the employer from the workers’ paychecks and then remitted to the respective union. facilities had initially been entirely removed for over 25,000 members and were only partially restored two months later.

In October 2014, the ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
sent a Direct Contact Mission to Fiji to investigate complaints made by national trade unions in relation to ENID.

Following extensive tripartite consultations, the Mission concluded that Fiji needs to take rapid action around rights to freedom of association freedom of association The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
and collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
. Specifically, it found that the ENID had led to the deregistration of unions, the abrogation of collective agreements, a fear of job losses among employee representatives, a severe imbalance of power in collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
processes, and the termination of court cases involving ENID companies on the basis that the ENID does not allow for judicial review.

It further reported that the bargaining units established under ENID “all referred to a general strategy of simply trying to maintain terms and conditions that had been previously agreed with the unions, while any changes proposed by the employer had to be accepted given their unequal force and capacity."

Electoral Decree 2014 allows Government interference in trade union elections 31-05-2014

Article 154 of the Electoral Decree 2014 makes the Fijian Elections Office responsible for the conduct of elections of all registered trade unions. It also gives the Electoral Commission power to make rules relating to the nomination of candidates, the conduct of polling, the counting and tabulation of results and the filing and adjudication of complaints and appeals.

Article 17(8) also provides that decisions of the Supervisor of the Electoral Commission as to any complaint are final and binding. The decree explicitly divests all courts from any review of the decision of the Supervisor. Without judicial review, the credibility of the Commission is fundamentally undermined.

The Fijian Trades Union Congress (FTUC) has pointed out that the Electoral Decree is regressive and contrary to the country’s obligations under the ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
Freedom of Association freedom of association The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
Convention No. 87, ratified by Fiji in 2001. It is also contrary to the terms of the Employment Relations Promulgation 2007, which prescribes that trade union rules must have provision for secret ballots to be conducted relating to the election of officers. In the FTUC’s view, the Electoral Decree is intended to enable the Government’s control of trade unions.

In May 2014, Rajeshwar Singh, Acting FTUC National Secretary stated:

“It is well known that the government has an agenda to annihilate the trade unions as the ENI and Political Parties Decrees show the extent that they would go to see the demise of the unions.

Those who know how the industrial relations industrial relations The individual and collective relations and dealings between workers and employers at the workplace, as well as the institutional interaction between unions, employers and also the government.

See social dialogue
has developed in this country would clearly see that we are paddling back in time. Under the Employment Act before the ERP 2007 the Ministry of Labour officials were required to supervise the trade union elections. However, when the ERP 2007 was passed in Parliament in 2006 the supervision requirement by the Ministry of Labour was taken out as Parliament then recognized that the Registrar of Trade Unions will oversee the operation of the Unions and that the unions are a democratic organization of workers that is accountable to its members and have appropriate rules that are not unreasonable, undemocratic or contrary to law”.

The Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC)23-07-2013

The Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC), the public entity that owns and manages the sugar mills, has completely refused to bargain with the union, has routinely violated the labour law and has ignored previous collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
agreements. Mill workers have not had a raise in seven years and many live in poverty. After the union filed its notice, the FSC announced a token wage increase that does not begin to address the over 40% decline in real wages for sugar mill workers over the last seven years.

FSC management has held meetings in all work stations in order to intimidate union members not to vote and even threatened that if they voted the FSC would turn their names over to the government – a military dictatorship since 2006. Since 23 July, when balloting started, police and military officers were also present at the polling sites to threaten and intimidate workers. The Attorney General, the architect of many repressive decrees that have stripped workers and citizens of their fundamental rights, has now issued threats to the union via the state-dominated press. The latest threat stated that the government will intervene to keep the mills running in the case of a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
. This has been interpreted to mean that the military will be mobilised as replacement labour and/or that the government will place the sugar sector under the scope of the Essential National Industries (ENI) Decree.

Travel bans imposed on union leaders25-09-2012

Daniel Urai, President of the Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC), was prohibited from travelling to the United Kingdom on 6 March 2012. He can only travel to the outer islands of Fiji without the authorisation of the Public Prosecutor. On 7 May 2012, he was permitted to travel abroad on the condition that a deposit was paid. On 25 September 2012, he was prevented from flying to the World Labour Conference in Beijing. Security forces stopped him when he was about to board and only released him after the plane had left.

Infringement of basic rights12-06-2012

On 12 June 2012, public authorities announced the withdrawal of Fiji TV’s broadcasting licence because it covered opposition comments, including those of the FTUC’s General Secretary, Felix Anthony.

On 21 September, a demonstration demanding “Just wages for all” was prohibited even though a valid permit had been obtained in advance.

Withdrawal of check-off facility09-05-2012

Parmesh Chand, the Permanent Secretary of the Public Service Commission, announced the withdrawal of the check-off check-off A system where union dues and fees are automatically deducted by the employer from the workers’ paychecks and then remitted to the respective union. system for trade union dues on 9 May 2012.

Anti-union discrimination31-01-2012
Rights of civil aviation workers denied31-12-2011

The Essential National Industries Decree (ENID) has severely affected the membership base of the Transport Workers Union (TWU), which represents cabin crew, baggage handlers and engineers. Roughly 90% of TWU members are employed by Air Pacific. Article 2 of the ENID defines a “bargaining unit bargaining unit A group of workers within a particular company, establishment, industry or occupation that constitutes an appropriate unit for the purpose of collective bargaining.

See bargaining agent
” as a group of at least 75 workers employed by the same employer. However, only the cabin crew collectively number more than 75 workers.

All other groups fail to meet that threshold and are thus ineligible to form a new bargaining unit bargaining unit A group of workers within a particular company, establishment, industry or occupation that constitutes an appropriate unit for the purpose of collective bargaining.

See bargaining agent
. These workers have individual contracts that were drafted and imposed by management. Dues deduction was also eliminated. With the elimination of the non-cabin crew members, the union lost 50% of its members overnight – roughly 250 workers. The cabin crew have a bargaining unit bargaining unit A group of workers within a particular company, establishment, industry or occupation that constitutes an appropriate unit for the purpose of collective bargaining.

See bargaining agent
which was recognised by management. However, under Article 7 of the ENID, the leaders and staff of the TWU, who are not employed by Air Pacific, cannot represent the bargaining unit bargaining unit A group of workers within a particular company, establishment, industry or occupation that constitutes an appropriate unit for the purpose of collective bargaining.

See bargaining agent
and engage in bargaining on their behalf. It is reported that members are under strong pressure to withdraw from the TWU. Within the 60 days provided in the ENID, Air Pacific imposed a new CBA which diluted the wages and took back previous gains with regard to overtime pay, meal allowances, clothing allowances, annual leave, sick leave, etc.

There are 78 pilots for Air Pacific, just over the minimum required to form a new bargaining unit bargaining unit A group of workers within a particular company, establishment, industry or occupation that constitutes an appropriate unit for the purpose of collective bargaining.

See bargaining agent
under the ENID. The decree gave the parties 60 days to negotiate a new agreement. The union signed a contract with Air Pacific at 4am on 9 November after lengthy and difficult bargaining. The situation forced the union to accept major concessions in the new agreement. These include reductions in annual leave, sick leave and the elimination of long service leave. The contract also contains deep cuts to travel and meal allowances which reduce significantly the amount pilots are compensated. The union bargained with the company on the basis of the old numbers which reflected poor profitability. However, just after the agreements were signed between Air Pacific and the various bargaining units, Air Pacific announced greatly improved profits for the company for the previous year. The union believes that the timing of the profit results was intentional and that the union was intentionally misled. If the results had been released earlier, the arguments given for the application of the ENID at Air Pacific wouldn’t have held.

Air Pacific is also a major client of Air Terminal Services (ATS), which provides ground handling services at Nadi International Airport, including line maintenance, catering and cabin services, freight sales and handling. ATS is owned by the Government of Fiji (51%) and its employees (49%). Its workers are represented by the Federated Airlines Staff Association (FASA), which has a chair on the ATS Board.

Rajeshwar Singh, FTUC representative on the ATS Board, was removed from the board on 31 December, just days after being reappointed unanimously. The government claimed that he breached his fiduciary duty to the ATS board because of his meeting with Australian trade unionists urging a boycott boycott A collective refusal to buy or use the goods or services of an employer to express disapproval with its practices. Primary boycotts are used to put direct pressure on an employer, while a secondary boycott involves the refusal to deal with a neutral employer with the view of dissuading it from patronising the target employer. . Mr Singh does not deny the meeting but rejects the allegation that he called for a boycott boycott A collective refusal to buy or use the goods or services of an employer to express disapproval with its practices. Primary boycotts are used to put direct pressure on an employer, while a secondary boycott involves the refusal to deal with a neutral employer with the view of dissuading it from patronising the target employer. . FASA reported that permits to meet were routinely denied for no reasons, and in some cases in the past permits were granted and then revoked at the last minute once the union had taken on the costs of renting meeting space. They also believe that their telephones are monitored and are thus very circumspect about what they say.

Widespread violations in sugar cane plantations31-12-2011

The Sugar Cane Growers Council was disbanded in 2009. With the dismantling of these various institutions, unions allege that the cane growers have been completely side-lined from the industry, over which the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) now has total monopoly. Furthermore, since it is no longer obliged to cooperate on industry matters, it has begun to withhold vital information that growers are entitled to under the partnership provisions. Further, the National Farmers Union, as the largest trade union representing cane growers, was prevented from holding its general body meeting and branch annual general meetings in 2011. These meetings, which are generally held before the onset of the crushing season, are used as a forum to discuss problems farmers face as harvest gets underway. In recent months, they have been unable to hold any meetings at all. In 2010, dues deductions were also halted.

In 2010, the Labasa Cane Producers Association (LCPA), which covers cane growers in the Northern Division, was created. According to trade unions, the LCPA is not a representative institution of cane growers and is under the influence of the FSC. Trade unionists were also adament that they were not consulted about the formation of the LCPA. FTUC also reports that the military intimidated and threatened farmers into joining the LCPA - while at the same time the government instructed the FSC to stop dues deduction from NFU members. Farmers were also told that by joining the LCPA, they would get a higher price for the cane supplied to the FSC – which did not in fact materialise. The NFU also states that access to services has been restricted if the farmer is not a member of the LCPA.

The LCPA is established under the Industrial Organisations Act. Article 3.1(iii) of the LCPA constitution provides that officials of any other industrial association or political party cannot be office bearers of the LCPA – meaning that no trade union officer can ever be part of the governing body of the LCPA. Similar cane producer associations are planned but not yet established for the other cane growing regions. The Western Division is expected to be next.

Army keeps close control over sugar mills31-12-2011

Since 2009, sugar mills have been occupied by the military, which has assumed control over many aspects of their operations – including human resources. The Fiji Sugar and General Workers Union (FSGWU) reports that the military has assumed the power to discipline and fire workers. The President of the FSGWU - Ba Branch was beaten by military officers on 18 February 2011, along with Felix Anthony, the national secretary of the Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC), and again on 22 June. In conjunction with the second attack on the president, he was suspended from work for two weeks without pay and was transferred from his job as a locomotive driver to that of a general employee in the track shop (which implied a drop in wages from USD4.17 to USD3.64 per hour). The military stated that the reason for the transfer was his status as a trade union leader.

The military interrogated the union president on a monthly basis in 2011, accusing him of sabotaging the Fijian sugar industry. He reported that the soldiers told him that “if you make one wrong move, we will kill you”. In June 2011, the Commissioner Western Division (a civilian post occupied by a Lieutenant-Colonel) announced at a meeting with mill workers that there is no longer a union representing mill workers. In November 2011, HR manager Subril Goundar told the union president that he would no longer recognise him as the representative of the workers. On several occasions, Mr Goundar called in workers to his office to discharge or discipline them; there was no investigation or any consultation with union representatives. The grievance machinery and progressive discipline machinery in the CBA, which remains in force, has been ignored. Workers who are caught talking to the union president have been threatened by management and the military with discipline or discharge.

Despite annual wages increases provided for in the CBA, Mr Khalil reports that there have been no wage increases for several years. Further, overtime provisions are routinely violated, with workers either not being paid the overtime premium (1.5-2x) or not being paid at all for overtime work. Indeed, the CBA is respected only in the breach. Cases have been filed over dismissals and other breaches of the CBA. However, these cases are slow to be processed, if ever. The Ministry, which receives the cases and provides mediation mediation A process halfway between conciliation and arbitration, in mediation a neutral third party assists the disputing parties in reaching a settlement to an industrial dispute by suggesting possible, non-binding solutions.

See arbitration, conciliation
, often delays action on the cases for months on end.

Essential Industries Decree undermines trade union movement 31-12-2011

The Essential Industries Decree of 2011, which currently covers the financial sector, telecommunications, civil aviation and public services, severely restricts trade union rights. On 13 September, ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
Director General Juan Somavia denounced the decree, stating: “By going ahead with this Decree the government has demonstrated the same lack of concern for the views of the international community as it has for the rights and aspirations of its own people. That means reversing this and other restrictive labour decrees, a return to dialogue with trade unions and employers, an end to assaults on and harassment of trade unionists, and the immediate restoration of basic civil liberties.”

Memos surfaced in 2011 suggesting that the decree was written for the regime by a U.S.-based law firm, whose fees were paid for in part by Air Pacific, the Fijian national airline; 46% of its shares are also owned by the Australian air carrier Qantas.

Two articles of the Essential National Industries Decree in particular have devastated trade unions in the sectors concerned. First, Article 2 of the decree provides that the bargaining unit bargaining unit A group of workers within a particular company, establishment, industry or occupation that constitutes an appropriate unit for the purpose of collective bargaining.

See bargaining agent
must consist of 75 or more members. In many cases, there are fewer than 75 workers in a job classification, eliminating the right of such workers to form a unit under the decree. Second, Article 7 requires that bargaining unit bargaining unit A group of workers within a particular company, establishment, industry or occupation that constitutes an appropriate unit for the purpose of collective bargaining.

See bargaining agent
representatives be employees of the employer with whom they are bargaining. In most cases in Fiji, there is little leadership, institutional structure or expertise at the branch level, with union leadership and technical capacity centralised at the national union level. These people are employees of the union and not of any of the employers where their members are employed. Thus, the relationship between the union leadership and the rank and file is effectively severed by the decree. Those union representatives who attempt to support the bargaining efforts of inexperienced new bargaining units can face stiff penalties and prison terms under the law.

Employers in sectors not even covered by the decree have invoked it in order to justify elimination of dues deductions, unilateral changes to collective agreements and refusal to bargain.

Workers are resigning from unions en masse, as they either see no use in belonging to an institution that cannot effectively represent them, are threatened by management to leave the union, or resign out of a general fear that trade unionism is a dangerous undertaking in Fiji today. The decree also bans the automatic deduction of trade union dues from workers’ salaries (unless the employer agrees to do so). Some leaders predicted that their unions would not be able to hold on financially for too much longer unless the situation changed quickly.

A de facto ban on trade union activity31-12-2011

The Public Emergency Regulations (PER) of 2009 gave unchecked powers to the regime to ban much public assembly in Fiji. In 2011, the regime selectively denied requests for meetings, using the excuse that the meeting convenors were opposed to government policy. In other cases, the police revoked previously-awarded permission and then broke up the meetings.

In the most extreme case, the Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC) President, Daniel Urai, and Nitin Goundar, an organiser for the National Union of Hospitality, Catering and Tourism Industries Employees (NUHCTIE), were arrested, detained and charged under the PER for meeting with trade unionists at the hotel where they worked to prepare for collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
. The case remains pending at year end, though the government has yet to produce the required disclosures – including the identity of the person or persons accusing the two of violating the PER (which is required in order to proceed with the case).

It remains unclear whether those charged under the PER will continue to be prosecuted following its repeal. Trade unionists reported that the government instituted a de facto ban on trade union meetings immediately following the visit of Guy Ryder, ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights
Executive Director of the Standards and Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Sector, in August 2011. Essentially all requests are either denied or simply never acted upon before the date of the proposed meeting. Far from being just a nuisance, the ban has had far reaching implications on industrial relations industrial relations The individual and collective relations and dealings between workers and employers at the workplace, as well as the institutional interaction between unions, employers and also the government.

See social dialogue
(except in those very few cases where employers continued to cooperate with the unions in spite of the PER).

Public emergency regulations seriously infringe trade union freedom31-12-2010

Public emergency regulations adopted in December 2006 remain in place. They seriously infringe fundamental human rights, such as the freedom of assembly. In particular it allows military personnel to take up positions at the workplace which intimidates the workers. This was the case for example, during a restructuring at the Fiji Sugar Corporation.

These regulations also have a direct impact on the trade unions’ ability to freely organise their activities. A permit must be obtained to hold any trade union meeting or activity. On the 20 August, a police chief in Lautoka used these public emergency regulations to refuse authorisation to hold a trade union meeting of the sugar sector (Fiji Sugar and General Workers Union).

Recourse to individual contracts to limit collective bargaining31-12-2010
A job or a role in the trade union31-12-2010

Civil servants who occupy a position of responsibility within their trade union had to choose between their job and their role in the trade union. For example, the Minister of Education informed a high level member of the Department of Education who had been appointed as head of Second Level Education in Fiji but who was also Deputy General Secretary of the Fijian Teacher’s Union, that she would have to choose between her position within the Department or within the trade union. Trade union involvement can also have a bearing on the renewal of civil servants contracts.

© ITUC-CSI-IGB 2013 | www.ituc-csi.org | Contact Design by Pixeleyes.be - maps: jVectorMap