Managing director of Goundar Shipping, George Goundar, has told MPs that delays in immigration processing are crippling the shipping industry and leaving operators struggling to retain skilled foreign workers.
Mr Goundar raised the issue during his submission yesterday before the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, which is receiving submissions on the Employment Relations (Amendment) Bill.
“I have four workers here where immigration has given us three months, and the file is just sitting in the MSAF office,” Mr Goundar said.
“It’s sitting in the immigration office while we, the stakeholders, are suffering.”
He recalled a previous incident involving foreign workers who were forced to leave Fiji due to permit delays.
“Last time I had overnight, 32 Filipinos had to leave just because MSAF and immigration did not process their work permits in time,” he said.
Mr Goundar said in some cases approvals arrive only after workers have already left the country.
“Sometimes the workers go back after their one-year contract ends, and then the approval comes,” he said.
He told the committee that the lack of a clear legal framework for seafarers was compounding the problem.
“That’s what we lack in Fiji — putting documents forward and having them vetted in time so we can get employees to work,” Mr Goundar said.
“There’s no specific law for seafarers, so we’re applying land-based law to seafarers.”
He called on the Government to introduce exemptions or a dedicated framework to support the maritime sector.
“There should be an exemption from the government to at least allow a framework so we can get foreign workers to come and work in this industry,” he said.
Mr Goundar told MPs the uncertainty was creating operational risks for shipping companies and discouraging skilled foreign seafarers from working in Fiji.
