An increasing number of business leaders are supporting a previous alert issued by tourism executive Fantasha Lockington regarding the need for transparency in the formulation of laws that govern the employment sector. These concerns have resurfaced in relation to the draft Employment Relations Bill, two years after SunBiz highlighted similar issues raised by business leaders.
Recent adjustments to the same draft document have intensified worries about how it was created. According to Mrs. Lockington, the process took place without adequate consultation with business owners or their representatives. The challenge, brought forth this week by the chief executive officer of the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association, sheds light on a secretive effort that aimed to silence the voices of business leaders within the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation.
“We received a draft Bill just yesterday afternoon (Monday, October 15) without prior notice, containing new additions,” Mrs. Lockington stated about the latest version of the draft. “The entire process revolves around consultation, not merely submissions. Providing feedback would have been futile since they already had the draft prepared. They should be engaging with us in discussions; it seems they do not want to justify the changes made.”
In questioning the legitimacy of the proceedings, Mrs. Lockington is courageously addressing these concerns more than two years after manufacturer Mike Towler voiced similar frustrations. “It is the ministry that has been procrastinating and avoiding responsibility rather than the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation,” Mr. Towler stated from Australia. “If FCEF were responsible for the delay, Mrs. Lockington wouldn’t have gone public to criticize the ministry’s lack of action regarding negotiations on the Employment Relations Act.”
He added that the Government has done little to address the improper process associated with raising the national minimum wage and adjustments made by the sectoral wage council. The Employment ministry, however, has affirmed its dedication to promoting constructive dialogue about the review of the Employment Relations Act. Minister Agni Deo Singh asserted that the Ministry of Employment, Productivity, and Workplace Relations is committed to engaging with its tripartite partners – the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation and Fiji Trades Union Congress – in accordance with the International Labour Organisation’s Convention 144 for tripartite consultations.
Nonetheless, Mr. Towler challenged the ministry’s claims. “The Ministry of Employment has been acting in bad faith, not the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation,” he remarked. Both Mr. Singh and the ministry’s media liaison officer, Elina Vuniwa, are currently out of the country and have not provided responses to inquiries from SunBiz.
Additionally, Mr. Towler criticized the ministry’s handling of the proposed Employment Relations Act. He reminded Mr. Singh to separate his duties as a minister from his previous background in unionism. “Has he forgotten that he is no longer a union representative?” Mr. Towler asked. “He is now a minister and should act accordingly. It is time for him to resign or be dismissed in favor of someone capable of fulfilling ministerial responsibilities instead of acting like a shop steward.”