The government said that the International Labor Organization (ILO) delegation was not ejected, expelled, deported or forced to depart Fiji in any way.
A government statement released yesterday said that in order to make way for the next ILO visit under the Terms of Reference provided to the ILO delegation on Monday, they were asked to leave at their earliest opportunity.
The statement comes in wake of ILO’s release that their delegation was stopped by the Fijian government from carrying out a mission to verify complaints over the lack of freedom of association made by local trade unions.
The ILO said that the government had initially agreed to the ILO mission, but then called it short during the first meeting this Wednesday.
It said that the Office of the Prime Minister presented the mission with entirely new terms of reference, which the ILO found unacceptable and as a result, the ILO mission was asked to leave Fiji immediately.
ILO Director General Juan Somavia has called on the government to reconsider its position and continue collaborating with the ILO on these important matters for the international community.
However, the statement issued by the government reads they have a policy of openness and transparency to outside scrutiny by organizations such as the ILO and it welcomes such visits as long as they are conducted by an independent delegation with no predetermined outcomes and a focused agenda.
The government said that it will be pleased to welcome an ILO visit that will produce an objective evaluation of the issues set out in the Terms of Reference and such an ILO visit will be welcomed to Fiji if they arrive tomorrow or anytime in the future.
The Terms of Reference reads that to review the impact of the Essential Industries Decree 2011, in particular whether the aims and objectives of the decree are in conflict with the fundamental rights of workers and employers in an essential industry, whether workers in an essential industry have been able to collectively organise and form unions, whether workers in an essential industry have been able to reach collective agreements with their employers, whether workers in an essential industry have been able to collectively agree with employers on a fair means of resolving employment disputes and whether the workers in an essential industry, in effect now have better terms and conditions than what was prevalent before.
The Terms of Reference also said that to assess whether Fiji has adequate laws and processes to effectively investigate, prosecute and adjudicate complaints of assaults, intimidation and harassment by any person, including any trade union official, to review the terms and conditions applicable for public servants, in particular, whether public servants have the right to form and join trade unions, and whether they are entitled to the fundamental rights and principles at work, to assess whether public servants have recourse to have their individual grievances addressed by an independent judiciary, to assess whether unions representing public servants are prevented from negotiating terms and conditions for public servants.
It also said to assess whether trade unions, workers and employers are able to hold meetings and associate, in light of the removal of the Public Emergency Regulations, to assess whether complaints made against the Fijian government are with respect to concerns of all workers in Fiji, or whether such complaints are only made by a select few trade unionists for their own personal, political or pecuniary interests.
The Terms of Reference also suggests that to genuinely assess the situation of workers and employers in Fiji, without simply heeding to what is being stated by a select few trade unionists (as was done by the Committee of Experts and the Committee on Freedom of Association), to discuss with government officials on the various reforms undertaken by government to preserve and create jobs for workers, to sustain industries essential to Fiji and to improve living standards of all Fijians and to assess Fiji’s commitment to ILO conventions, in light of the recent ratification by Fiji of numerous ILO conventions.
Story by: Sneh Chaudhry
