A senior lawyer has urged the Fiji Trade Union Congress to shift its focus from personal attacks to substantive debate over the draft Employment Relations Amendment Bill, warning that the proposed changes could reduce hiring, deter foreign investment and strip unionised workers of the right to negotiate individual employment terms.
Munro Leys lawyer Jon Apted, speaking to a Parliamentary Standing Committee reviewing the draft Bill, said his concerns were motivated by potential adverse effects on workers and the broader economy. Responding to heated remarks from FTUC national secretary Felix Anthony about his earlier comments, Apted said the argument should centre on the Bill’s likely real-world consequences rather than on personalities.
“They will stop current employers from hiring new workers and stop some investors from going into business altogether,” Apted told the committee. “None of this is good for workers.” He stressed that the risk is not confined to large firms: “These risks apply to everyone who employs someone, including small business, farms and even a family that employs a housemaid. It applies even if someone has worked for you for a single day.”
Apted warned the draft legislation could also chill foreign investment. He said he compared the Bill with employment laws in Australia and New Zealand while addressing the committee because those countries are commonly cited as models and are significant sources of investment into Fiji. “Those investors are unlikely to invest in Fiji if the risk and costs of doing business are greater here,” he said.
One of Apted’s central critiques is that the Bill would remove a unionised worker’s ability to negotiate their own terms of employment. “It will give trade unions the exclusive power to bargain for members. This means that a union member cannot even agree their own promotion or salary with their employer,” he told committee members. He argued that many of the proposed changes run counter to the forward-looking approach employment laws should adopt.
The exchange underscores growing tensions as the Bill undergoes parliamentary scrutiny. The FTUC has been a vocal stakeholder in debates over labour law reform; Apted’s call for the union to engage with the specifics of the draft legislation reflects a widening public dispute over how far the amendments should go in reshaping collective bargaining and individual employment rights.
The Standing Committee’s hearings are part of the formal process for the Employment Relations Amendment Bill’s consideration in Parliament. With stakeholders from business, unions and legal circles presenting contrasting views, the debate looks set to intensify as lawmakers weigh the legislation’s implications for workers, small employers and the investment climate. Apted’s intervention frames the latest development as a call for detailed, issue-focused scrutiny rather than ad hominem exchanges.
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