Late work arrivals is an issue for each employer, and it is not something that the Ministry of Employment looks into.
Those are the words of Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Employment Jone Usamate who has clarified that the Ministry of Employment simply sets the minimum requirements for the number of hours of work.
When questioned by Fijivillage on whether there is an exception for workers that are arriving to work late due to the traffic jam caused by ongoing roadworks, Usamate says coming to work late due to the traffic jam is something that can be discussed by the employer and employees.
Meanwhile, Minister for Youth and Sports Laisenia Tuitubou has confirmed that they activated the flexi hours policy within the Ministry.
Tuitubou says this enables those workers who are late to work due to traffic to have shorter breaks to make up for the time they lost in the morning.
The Fiji Bank and Finance Sector Employees Union says some employers have been extremely tough on employees who are late to work in the morning due to traffic congestion in the Suva Nausori corridor.
National Secretary Sailesh Naidu says employees have been forced to go home for the day if they were late to work for less than an hour.
He says in one case an employee’s leave was deducted for being late.
