The Suva Retailers Association has called on the Government to release the controversial proposed amendments to the Employment Relations Act (ERA) for wider public information and discussion.
The association has expressed support to calls from the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation (FCEFG) and the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association (FHTA) to consider employers’ concerns by reviewing the proposed “harsh elements” of the amendments.
It urged stakeholders to collaborate on balanced solutions that protected workers while allowing businesses to thrive.
SRA president Jitesh Patel said the proposed fines up to $500,000, imprisonment up to 20 years and passing mediation services were “very concerning” to their 150 members and could counter their initial business outlook.
“The Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) the Ministry of Employment, Productivity & Industrial Relations has imposed on employer members to the Employment Relations Advisory Board (ERAB), does not allow SRA to engage freely with employer members of the Employment Relations Board (ERAB) to discuss the proposed amendments,” Mr Patel said.
He said majority of SRA members were MSMEs and employed more than 3500 workers, mostly women.
“Our retail businesses and workers also support hundreds of other businesses, including Government and thousands of workers in the city.”
He said members continued to be impacted by the high cost of doing business, unavailability of skills and labour, low productivity and climatic events.
“Therefore, we call on the Government to provide clarity to our retail business community by releasing the proposed amendments so we can freely discuss it with our ERAB members.”
The association urges the return to the tripartite set up “so our ERAB members can negotiate the amendments on behalf of SRA, transparently on the amendments to the ERA”.
