The High Court has ruled against the Fijian Teachers Association (FTA) in their legal challenge against the Office of the Attorney-General and the Minister for Employment concerning COVID-19 vaccination mandates. The case was presided over by Civil High Court Judge Justice Dave Tuiqereqere.
The legal proceedings were focused on the Health and Safety at Work (General Workplace Conditions) (Amendment) Regulation, which was enacted on July 8, 2021, and later repealed in March 2023. This regulation mandated that only employers and employees who had received COVID-19 vaccinations were allowed to work on-site, leading to the dismissal of unvaccinated employees, including many teachers.
The FTA filed the case on August 2, 2021, shortly after the regulation was implemented. At that time, the deadline for vaccination had not yet passed, thus the full impact of the regulation on the FTA members was not immediately evident. However, numerous workers lost their jobs for opting not to get vaccinated under the regulation’s enforcement.
The central question before the court was the legality of the 2021 Regulations.
In his decision, Justice Tuiqereqere noted the defendants’ argument that the case should have been initiated through a motion rather than an originating summons. He acknowledged this point but indicated that the substantive issues needed more attention than procedural irregularities.
The judge remarked that the defendants also claimed the facts presented by the FTA were insufficient, lacking detail on how many members were impacted. He agreed with this critique but pointed out that the FTA sought general declarations about the validity of the 2021 Regulations. Furthermore, he recognized that many unvaccinated teachers had indeed faced job terminations as a result of the regulations, which is a widely known fact.
Additionally, the defendants contended that the issue was moot due to the repeal of the 2021 Regulations in March 2023. Justice Tuiqereqere rejected this argument, emphasizing that the repeal did not reverse the employment consequences faced by the FTA and its members stemming from the regulations enforced prior to their repeal.