The High Court has rejected the Fijian Teachers Association’s initial summons against the Office of the Attorney-General and the Minister for Employment regarding COVID-19 vaccinations. The case was presided over by Civil High Court Judge, Justice Dave Tuiqereqere.
This legal matter pertains to the Health and Safety at Work (General Workplace Conditions) (Amendment) Regulation, which was enacted on July 8, 2021, and subsequently repealed in March 2023. Under these regulations, only employees who had received the COVID-19 vaccination were allowed to enter the workplace, while employers had the authority to dismiss unvaccinated workers.
The Court noted that the proceedings were initiated on August 2, 2021, shortly after the regulations came into effect and before the vaccination deadline. Consequently, the full impact on the FTA was not yet felt at that time. Nevertheless, during the enforcement of the 2021 regulations, many individuals, including teachers, lost their jobs for opting not to get vaccinated.
The main issue at hand was the legality of the 2021 Regulations.
Justice Tuiqereqere expressed that the defendants argued that the case should have been initiated as a motion rather than an originating summons. He concurred with this viewpoint, referring to Rule 3(1) of the High Court (Constitutional Redress) Regulations 2015, although he noted that the plaintiff believed this mistake was rectifiable. However, due to his ruling on the main issue, he found it unnecessary to address this technicality.
The Judge further acknowledged that the defendants argued the case lacked sufficient factual basis, specifically mentioning the absence of evidence detailing how FTA members were impacted. While he agreed with this assessment, he pointed out that the plaintiff sought general declarations regarding the validity of the 2021 Regulations and noted that it was not essential to examine the FTA’s specific situation to resolve the matter. The court also recognized the well-known fact that many unvaccinated teachers lost their jobs due to the regulations.
Addressing the defendants’ claim that the issue was moot given the repeal of the 2021 Regulations in March 2023, Justice Tuiqereqere disagreed, stating that the repeal did not negate the employment consequences faced by the FTA or its members as a result of the earlier regulations.