"Fiji union sees no point in govt-run talks on labour issues", 24 February 2020

Fiji's government has rendered tripartite talks on labour issues a waste of time, a unionist says.

In 2016, the government signed a tripartite agreement with unions and employers to address labour issues.

This was done at the behest of the International Labour Organisation.

However, Fiji Transport Workers Union's general secretary Kamlesh Kumar said the government was not playing fair under that mechanism.

He said unions were contributing to the tripartite talks, in particular to the Employment Relations Advisory board.

But it had emerged that government representatives who chaired the tripartite meetings expected unions to always endorse their decisions, he said.

"Because they already come with pre-conceived ideas, their minds are made up, there is nothing that the unions can positively contribute. And thus the unions find there is no reason wasting its time participating in tripartite discussions when decisions are already made."

[...]