Parliamentary oversight has turned a fresh spotlight on bullying and harassment within the civil service after concerns were raised during the Ministry of Civil Service’s presentation of its 2022–2023 Annual Report. Rinesh Sharma, Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, told the committee the report’s sections on staff engagement, discipline and industrial relations revealed troubling behaviour that demands stronger protections for junior staff and interns.
Sharma flagged that the Annual Report recorded two separate breaches of the civil service code of conduct linked to harassment cases. He told ministry officials such behaviour — particularly bullying by senior staff toward interns and younger employees — should be met with a policy of zero tolerance. “Can you elaborate on what measures exist to protect whistleblowers and those who feel victimized by harassment and bullying?” he asked during the session, pressing officials on how ethics commitments translate into real safeguards.
In response, Samuela Moce, Deputy Secretary for Relations at the Ministry of Civil Service, outlined the existing grievance channels. He said members of the service can submit complaints to the Public Service Commission, which receives grievances and works with the relevant permanent secretaries to address them. Moce described this as the formal pathway for staff seeking redress within the public service framework.
Moce also told the committee that, while Fiji does not yet have a government-wide whistleblower policy, the Ministry of Civil Service operates its own reporting system to allow staff to safely raise concerns. He reiterated that an anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policy has been implemented across government portfolios to promote a safer workplace environment, though he did not provide details on protections for complainants who fear retaliation.
The exchange underscores a gap identified by MPs: ethics and discipline frameworks exist on paper but may be uneven in protecting vulnerable employees in practice. Sharma’s questioning reflects parliamentary scrutiny of whether current mechanisms are sufficient to ensure accountability and to encourage those afraid to speak out to come forward without fear of reprisal.
The issue arrives as broader efforts to modernise the civil service continue. The government’s recent Functional Review of the Civil Service aims to strengthen operations and governance across ministries, and the latest committee session signals renewed attention on staff welfare and workplace standards as part of that reform agenda. Parliament may follow up to seek more detail on how grievances are logged, investigated and resolved, and whether a unified whistleblower policy is needed to close the gaps identified in the Annual Report.
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