The proposed Employment Relations Bill is the result of 15 years of negotiations between the tripartite partners.
FTUC national secretary Anthony said while making submissions on the draft Bill before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economic Affairs that when the last Employment Relations Act was promulgated, it was agreed by the tripartite partners that a review would be carried out within five years of the Act coming into force.
“And when the parties did meet, the Terms of Reference that were agreed upon was that all of our labour laws ought to comply with the ILO (International Labour Organization)’s core conventions.
“By virtue of being a member of ILO, countries are obligated to comply with the core conventions.”
He said Fiji had issues with the ratification of the ILO conventions.
“The Fijian laws have been subject to scrutiny by the Committee of Experts at the ILO for many years for violations of workers’ rights.
“As a result, there have been numerous reports that have been published by the Committee of Experts on the Fijian laws, and these reports have actually urged the Government to act upon the Employment Relations Act and amend the provisions, so that they comply with the core conventions.”
Mr Anthony said over the years, the Government has made efforts to ratify ILO conventions and review the Employment Relations Act, with the proposed Bill capturing most of the tripartite parties’ views on the law.
“This has been a fairly long process, and I am hoping that this will be the last time I have to speak on this issue because I am pretty much tired of speaking over and over again on the same issue.
“The FTUC welcomes this Bill. It is high time that we got on the right side of the ILO and not only that, I think this Bill brings Fiji back to the league of respected nations at the ILO.
“I think we are more than happy to see Fiji is back where we ought to be internationally.”
