Police advise workers not to gather outside WAF depots

The Water Authority of Fiji is currently working with Police to deal with some Water Authority workers gathering outside the WAF depots.

Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho confirms that there is a situation at some of the Water Authority depots.

Police are at the scene and are also advising workers that they have to follow the law.

The workers have also been told that they cannot just gather outside the depots.

About 200 people are gathered outside the Water Authority depot at Reservoir Road.

We are also checking other depots.

We are currently trying to speak to Fiji Trades Union Congress General Secretary Felix Anthony.

Anthony had earlier said that people will find out today whether Water Authority workers will have a nationwide protest before the planned FTUC protest on Friday.

We are also trying to get comments from the Chairman of the Water Authority Bhavesh Patel on the status of the contracts of the people gathered outside the depots. He is expected to issue a statement later this morning.

Patel had earlier said that it is quite disturbing that Felix Anthony is ready to mislead the workers into a strike based on a Facebook page which contains news and events which never happened.

The press conference that Anthony mentions in his release that the Minister for Infrastructure had announced the restructure and job losses, did not happen.

Patel stresses that Minister Usamate never gave those comments, and he can assure the people of Fiji that 300 projects have not been stalled, or are in limbo.

Patel says this is completely incorrect information.

The Water Authority of Fiji has reiterated that, contrary to the union’s claims, about 600 staff have successfully passed their performance assessment and will be receiving contract renewals.

Patel says as the Water Authority does every single year, the upcoming projects have been identified and advertised.

Operations Manager Sekove Uluinayau says this is standard practice in the Water Authority of Fiji in regard to temporary workers, and staff are well aware of this. Uluinayau says it is quite unfortunate that the unions have spread this information and this has negatively affected the Water Authority family who are a close unit.

The management met with staff at Wailoku Depot to address their issues and receive their applications for temporary workers’ project placements.

In a statement, Anthony is asking Water Authority Chairman Bhavesh Patel to confirm how many workers’ contracts are being terminated and the real reasons for the mass terminations.

He claims the union is aware that more than 300 projects are incomplete and left in limbo.

Anthony is also refuting comments from the Water Authority Chairman that no one is being terminated.

He claims that the Minister for Infrastructure had said to the media that the contracts of 600 permanent staff and 2,300 temporary workers were going to be terminated.

Anthony further says in the statement that the Water Authority Chairman should know that in companies where unions exist and a Collective Agreement is in place, no individual contracts are signed.

He also says that no worker has signed a contract ending yesterday nor is there any such provision in the Collective Agreement.

The Water Authority of Fiji says nobody’s contact is being terminated in their response to claims by the FTUC that termination notices have been given to about 2,600 Water Authority of Fiji workers.

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