New enforcement powers proposed for labour officers under the Employment Relations Bill No 27 of 2025 could breach constitutional protections and open the door to abuse, says the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association.
Association chief executive officer Fantasha Lockington told the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs the Bill granted labour officers powers that “in some cases exceed those of the police”.
“For instance, the labour officers do not need a warrant to take your property, and this is not consistent under normal law,” Ms Lockington said.
“These extended powers of labour officers, … breach the constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure and the separation of powers, which requires the breaches of the law to be determined by courts and not by officers of a ministry in the executive branch.”
She said all enforcement powers should be subject to clear safeguards, judicial oversight, and accountability mechanisms.
“One of the issues is the unrestricted access to workplaces, which may disrupt business operations and even create an environment of uncertainty.
“This proposed criminalisation of non-compliance with labour officers’ directives is equally concerning because it’s a separate thing and assumes that officers are always right, regardless of intent or mitigating circumstances, and whether the officer might have been acting wrongfully or based on incorrect information.
“We are concerned that these new powers, together with a range of new offences, create a climate for corruption to thrive.
“That, therefore, requires stronger safeguards and oversight mechanisms, mechanisms that are not discussed anywhere in the amendments, and assumes all labour officers will naturally be honest, diligent and trustworthy in the application of their duties …and strongly recommend that the excessive powers in Section 19 a be removed so that labour officers are subject to the same limitations as other law enforcement arms of government.”
Ms Lockington said the Bill must also include clear guidelines and accountability measures to ensure the officers exercise their powers fairly and proportionately.
“This is something that we have not seen in the amendments thus far,” she added.
