31 December, 2025, 6:41 pm Central - 27°C Clouds

If Fiji does not get herd immunity then more jobs will be lost - Batiweti

If Fiji does not get herd immunity then more jobs will be lost - Batiweti

By Rashika Kumar
05/08/2021
Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation CEO, Kameli Batiweti. [Image: Fijian Government]

Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation CEO, Kameli Batiweti says if Fiji does not get herd immunity then more jobs will be lost.

He highlighted this during Fiji Law Society’s Discussion titled ‘To Jab or Not To Jab’.

Batiweti says the key to reviving businesses and to get out of this predicament is the reopening of our borders and for that to happen, full vaccination and herd immunity is the key.

He says Fiji is currently depending on domestic businesses but it is not sustainable because we do not have the economies of the scale of first world countries that we can depend on to enable us to sustain our business in the short run.

Batiweti says the private sector is currently going through the motions just to keep their necks above water and in most instances, businesses are making a loss just to keep their employees employed and to keep their businesses running but this is not sustainable.

He adds the employers’ concern right now is for everyone to work together towards ensuring that our borders reopen so that businesses can work towards getting back to pre-COVID times.

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