ENERGY Fiji Ltd’s (EFL)chief executive officer Fatiaki Gibson has hit back at allegations from the Construction Energy and Trade Workers Union of Fiji (CETWUF), asserting that public statements regarding wage delays and executive salary increases are misleading and ignore binding agreements.
The response follows claims raised by union national secretary John Paul, who highlighted media reports showing total remuneration for EFL’s chief executive and executive management group increased from $3.309million in 2024 to $3.756m in 2025 while worker wage adjustments remained pending.
“EFL is unable to understand why CETWUF’s recent correspondence and public statements continue to rely on matters relating to the 2024 and 2025 Logs of Claim, particularly when those matters were fully considered during the arbitration proceedings and are inconsistent with the court’s findings,” Mr Gibson said.
The mediated agreement signed by both parties, he said, locked salaries and wages for a two-year period, meaning the company was legally bound by those terms until new negotiations begin for 2026.
Addressing the ongoing dispute, Mr Gibson noted that the union’s actions had damaged its standing among workers, with union membership within EFL dropping to approximately 25 per cent.
“CETWUF’s repeated disregard of established facts and binding court findings have significantly eroded employee confidence in its representation.”
He said such public claims threatened to mislead union members and the wider community regarding the true status of negotiations.
Mr Gibson affirmed that EFL remains willing to engage with the union on legitimate outstanding matters for 2026.
“As a responsible employer, EFL remains committed to conducting its employment and industrial relations practices in accordance with the Employment Relations Act, the applicable Collective Agreement, and the principles of good faith, fairness, transparency, and mutual respect.”
