A growing coalition of business leaders has reiterated the call by tourism figurehead Fantasha Lockington for greater transparency in the development of laws related to the employment sector. The resurgence of these concerns revolves around the draft Employment Relations Bill, echoing a similar outcry from business leaders reported by SunBiz two years ago.
Recent amendments to this draft have heightened frustrations regarding the manner in which it was prepared. Lockington asserts that these changes were made without adequate consultation with business owners or their representatives. This response emerged after the CEO of the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association highlighted an attempt to marginalize the input of business leaders within the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation.
“We received a new draft Bill yesterday afternoon without any prior notice, which included additional provisions,” Lockington stated regarding the recent release of the fourth draft. She emphasized that the process should focus on meaningful consultation instead of mere submissions. “Submitting our views would be meaningless since they already had a draft prepared. They should engage with us in discussions; it seems they wanted to avoid justifying the changes.”
Lockington has boldly taken the lead on these issues more than two years after manufacturer Mike Towler expressed similar frustrations. Towler commented from Australia, criticizing the ministry for its inaction. “The ministry has been stalling instead of the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation,” he remarked. “If FCEF were the cause of the delays, Lockington wouldn’t be publicly addressing the ministry’s failure to negotiate changes to the Employment Relations Act.”
Towler also pointed out the government’s lack of action on legally questionable processes regarding the national minimum wage and sectoral wage council increases. In response, Minister Agni Deo Singh noted that the Employment Ministry is committed to promoting good-faith dialogue on the Employment Relations Act review. He mentioned that the ministry has been consulting with its tripartite partners, including the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation and the Fiji Trades Union Congress, in accordance with the International Labour Organization Convention 144.
However, Towler dismissed Singh’s assurances. “The Ministry of Employment has been acting in bad faith, not the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation,” he stated. Singh, along with the ministry’s media liaison officer Elina Vuniwa, are currently out of the country and did not respond to inquiries.
Towler further criticized the ministry’s competence regarding the Employment Relations Act, suggesting that Singh should remember his current role as a minister rather than a former union representative. “He needs to act accordingly,” Towler added, stating that it might be time for Singh to resign or be replaced by someone more capable of fulfilling ministerial responsibilities.