DISCUSSIONS around fair management and ethical recruitment and employment of migrant workers have begun, following its launch at the Novotel in Lami yesterday.
The three-day workshop facilitated by the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation (FCEF) in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) brought together 25 organisations and stakeholders from various sectors in Fiji and was officiated by the Minister for Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations Agni Deo Singh.
Speaking to this newspaper, Mr Singh expressed his gratitude towards FCEF and the IOM on the implementation of the initiative, noting that there is a need for awareness and sensitisation of employers towards compliance with the laws.
“We must understand that migrant workers must enjoy the same rights as our local workers and we must not have any discrimination and there should be no double standards,” Mr Singh said.
He said the ministry has had a number of instances where they’ve received reports of exploitation, unfair treatments, short of payments and even no payments at all towards migrant workers.
“Our ministry is attending to all those cases and we make sure that no case is left unattended.
“We’ve actually fined employers on the spot as well for inhumane treatment of workers in the past and will not hesitate to do that.
“So our message to all the employers who actually have migrant workers working for them, please comply with the laws and we will all be able to work together,” he said.
Mr Singh said he looked forward to receiving positive outcomes from the workshop and hoped that it would provide beneficial insights and awareness towards employers in the future.
FCEF vice president Eldon Eastgate said FCEF prided itself not only in protecting their employer members but also their employees and ultimately creating a fair and balanced ground in Fiji.
“So naturally this (workshop) was born out of a necessity of seeing news printed in the dailies around the abuse of those rights of employees.
“With the joint partnership with IOM, we’ve managed to secure this three-day training with employers’ support and naturally just to start with the education of employers,” Mr Eastgate said.
The training will explore topics on understanding the labour migration process, recruitment and deployment of migrant workers, terms and condition of migrant workers, return, reintegration and onward migration and policy frameworks.
The Management of Fair & Ethical Recruitment & Employment of Migrant Workers workshop will be officially closed by Immigration Minister Viliame Naupoto this Friday.
