The High Court has rejected the Fijian Teachers Association’s legal action against the Office of the Attorney-General and the Minister for Employment regarding COVID-19 vaccinations. This case was presented to Civil High Court Judge, Justice Dave Tuiqereqere.
The proceedings focused on the Health and Safety at Work (General Workplace Conditions) (Amendment) Regulation, which was implemented on July 8, 2021, and later repealed in March 2023. During its enforcement, the regulation mandated that only vaccinated employers and workers could enter the workplace, while unvaccinated employees could face dismissal.
The Court noted that the Fijian Teachers Association filed this case on August 2, 2021, shortly after the regulation came into effect. This was also before the vaccination deadline, which meant the full impact of the regulations had not yet been felt by the association. Despite this, many workers, including teachers, lost their jobs for not getting vaccinated during the regulation’s enforcement.
The key question was whether the 2021 Regulations were lawful.
Justice Tuiqereqere indicated that the defendants argued the case should have been initiated by a motion instead of an originating summons. He concurred but stated that, given his ruling on the main issue, he did not need to address this procedural concern.
The defendants also criticized the claims made by the association as being inadequately presented, lacking specific details about affected FTA members. While he agreed with this point, Justice Tuiqereqere noted that the FTA sought general declarations regarding the validity of the 2021 Regulations, which did not require detailed examination of individual member circumstances. He acknowledged that it is a matter of public record that many unvaccinated teachers lost their jobs due to these regulations.
Furthermore, the defendants argued that the issue was irrelevant now that the 2021 Regulations had been repealed. However, Justice Tuiqereqere stated he did not accept this argument, explaining that the repeal did not reverse the consequences already faced by the FTA and its members.