A TOTAL of $8.4million has been paid out to workers as settlement agreements through the Employment Ministry’s mediation services since it was established in 2011.
This was revealed by the ministry’s mediator, Tomasi Keni, while making submissions on the UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation before the Parliament Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence in Suva yesterday.
In any case, he said they were required to settle the dispute within a period of 30 days.
Mr Keni said the number of people referring their cases to mediation had increased over the past years because it was not cost effective and time-consuming.
He also urged the Government to ratify the convention to allow them to facilitate and promote mediation as an alternative and effective method of resolving international commercial disputes.
“”We strongly believe that Government should ratify this convention because it will also boost commercial disputes internationally,” Mr Keno said.
