FTUC supports efforts to amend the Constitution - Anthony

The Fiji Trades Union Congress supports the coalition government’s efforts to amend the 2013 Constitution.

FTUC National Secretary, Felix Anthony says while the Government is yet to reveal the details of the amendments it intends to make, they believe that the people will have a say on the amendments being sought and the rights of all Fiji citizens would be safeguarded.

Anthony says the 2013 Constitution was imposed on the people and it does not reflect the will of all Fijians despite its preamble stating, “We the people of Fiji….”.

He says the preamble of the 2013 Constitution itself was and is misleading and untrue as the views of the people were not sought by the then interim Government.

FTUC believes that there is much to be changed in the Constitution including the electoral system which does not make Members of Parliament accountable to the people.

Anthony says they merely need to be accountable to their party leaders and this is quite apart from the fact that a person can become a Cabinet Minister with a few hundred votes only while others with thousands of votes do not qualify and are outside Parliament.

He adds the current Constitution has the Bill of Rights which also has provisions for those rights to be taken away.

Anthony says they saw this being exercised by the previous government that imposed the Constitution on the people when it came to freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of assembly, right to fair employment practices, proper working conditions and humane treatment, right to personal liberty and other provisions.

He says these rights were not allowed to be exercised by the former government, and we witnessed the incarceration of trade union leaders, denial of freedom of assembly despite numerous applications by FTUC to march, and the summary dismissal of ATS and Fiji Airways employees overnight via text messages, which was inhumane.

Anthony adds that trade unionists are classified as “public officers” and are totally denied their political rights, which are in violation of their fundamental human and political rights.

He says the FTUC agrees that the current provisions for amendments to the Constitution are unrealistic and not practical.

They firmly believe that amendments to the 2013 Constitution are needed to safeguard the rights of every Fijian, which includes all workers of this country.