THE deadline for written submissions on the proposed Employment Relations (Amendment) Bill and the new Work Care Bill has been extended.
In a statement issued late Monday evening, the Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations (MEPWR) said the decision was made in response to requests received during the nationwide public consultation on the two Bills, which ended on Monday.
“This extension aims to ensure that all stakeholders have ample opportunity to provide their inputs and feedbacks,” the Ministry stated.
“We encourage interested individuals and organisations to take advantage of this extended timeline to share their views and opinions on the two proposed bills.”
At the final consultation session held on Monday for members of the Fiji Commerce & Employers Federation (FCEF), the umbrella organisation for Fiji’s private sector, employers had raised concerns over what they believed was a very short timeframe allowed for public consultation given that the draft bills had only been released publicly by the Ministry last week.
Many felt they needed to assess how the proposed changes will affect their businesses, an exercise they said required more time than a two-week deadline.
At the close of the day’s session, FCEF president Vinay Narsey made a parting plea to Employment Minister Agni Deo Singh to be “mindful that these are very comprehensive documents and we as employers feel that we still need more time.”
“The consequences of this will be huge, and will affect our ease of doing business,” Mr Narsey said.
“We’d like to see business still remain open in Fiji.
“We have one good example that’s closing shop which made the news last week.
“We don’t want many more of that to happen so I urge you to reconsider giving this consultation a bit more time and allowing us to give our submissions.”
Although the proposed amendments to the Employment Relations Act (2008) were being discussed over a two-year period at the tripartite Employment Relations Advisory Board (ERAB), where FCEF is represented, those involved in the process had to sign non-disclosure agreements that restricted FCEF from discussing the proposed changes with its members.
