One of the longest-running strikes in the world has concluded with a $9.2 million payout for 368 workers from the Vatukoula mine.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Professor Biman Prasad, announced the resolution while delivering the 2024-2025 Budget in Parliament.
“On February 27, 1991, around 368 mining workers in Vatukoula went on strike, following all the due process,” Prasad stated. “There was no other way out for them, and they have been awaiting justice since then.”
Prasad described the harsh impact of the strike. “Rather than receiving justice, the strike devastated the lives and livelihoods of many miners over the last three decades. Families were shattered. Many struggled to afford a decent meal, parents could not send their children to school, and there was no money to care for the sick and elderly.”
He noted that various governments had come and gone without resolving the issue. A previous government had committed to settling the strike in 2015 but failed to follow through.
“The Coalition Government, together with the Fiji Trades Union Congress and the Fiji Mine Workers Union, have finally reached a resolution,” Prasad said. He announced a total payout of $9.2 million, with each of the 368 workers receiving $25,000. The first $10,000 will be paid from this Budget, and the remaining $15,000 from the 2025-2026 Budget.
“The Ministry of Employment will work with the affected workers and the unions to execute the payout and final settlement,” Prasad concluded.