The Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTIC) has adopted a three-pronged attack against Government to force it to continue recognising the congress as the lawful representative of workers in Fiji.
The FTUC’s national secretary, James Raman, told more than 500 workers who turned up at a rally last night that union leaders were not afraid to go to jail to protect workers.
The rally at the Suva Civic Auditorium gave a mandate to the FTUC to take all necessary action against Government.
Mr Raman told the rally that the three courses of action proposed by the FTUC were to: – take the Government to court for violation of workers’ constitutional rights; – take selective industrial action and ; – go on a national strike.
The meeting condemned the Government’s derecognition of the FTUC and the unilateral imposition of a 2.25 per cent wage ceiling as “unfair and undemocratic”.
It urged the FTUC to take action to restore “trade union rights and freedom of workers in Fiji”. The motion was moved by Kaliappan Goundar of the Suva City Council.
The only opposition came from Housing Authority employee Kailesi Uluiviti, who moved a motion calling on FTUC leadership to quit its affiliation to the Labour Party and concentrate on union work.
Mr Raman said the derecognition was a “calculated, deliberate and political” design of the Government to cripple the FTUC as a force in the country.
He said it was done in contravention of “international convention and norms”.
