The High Court in Lautoka has issued an interim order restraining FIJI Water from proceeding with the planned redundancy of its unionised workers until the matter is determined in court.
The order was made by Justice Mohamed Mackie in the Employment Jurisdiction following an ex-parte motion filed by the National Union of Workers (NUW) on behalf of affected members.
The union had sought urgent intervention after the company announced plans to make workers redundant in the coming weeks.
In the ruling, Justice Mackie ordered FIJI Water and its agents be “restrained from proceeding with the redundancy of union members and/or workers until the determination of this matter.”
The order will remain in force until November 10, 2025, with the originating summons to be filed and served before the next court date.
FIJI Water had announced on August 13 a proposed restructure that could see 51 positions made redundant across its Fiji operations.
This was announced in a letter to staff by senior vice president of operations, Damir Hlebec.
“The need for the proposed restructure is due to the ongoing global economic uncertainty impacting businesses in every industry and sector,” he had said.
“FIJI Water has similarly faced challenges, including softening sales in key markets and flat growth over the past several years.”
