Fiji faces a brain drain as skilled workers flee to Australia and New Zealand due to mental overload and stagnant wages, stated the Fiji Trades Union Congress.
And it has criticised current labour conditions, saying the exodus results from workers being trapped below the poverty line.
Congress president Muniappa Gounder said the mass movement of workers highlighted a systemic failure to ensure fair pay and manageable workloads.
Mr Goundar said safe workplaces and decent wages were legal requirements, not decorations.
“These rights are not imaginary but are grounded in the law,” Mr Goundar said.
“The Fiji 2013 Constitution guarantees fair labour practices, reasonable working conditions, and respect for human dignity.”
Highlighting the 1996 Health and Safety at Work Act, he argued that welfare and mental well-being were as critical as physical safety.
He warned the economy would stay stagnant as long as the workforce struggled to survive.
“No nation can claim progress while workers remain trapped in poverty,”
“You cannot build productivity on hunger. You cannot build loyalty on desperation.”
He described a harsh reality where families were forced to make impossible sacrifices.
“A worker should not have to choose between electricity and groceries, between rent and medicine, between welfare and lunch for their child,”
“Fair life gives us a stable family, a stable family gives us a strong future.”
Mr Goundar urged the Government to prioritise the Employment Relations Amendment Bill to stop talent drain, highlighting that Fiji shouldn’t export trained teachers.
“If you pay them properly, we’ll be able to retain. If you don’t pay them, they’re going to go.”
