10 Sep 2008

Fiji tourism operators want the industry declared essential to deter strikes

4:20 pm on 10 September 2008

Fiji's Government has heard a proposal for the country's tourism industry to be classed as an essential service in a bid to deter its workers from going on strike.

The Fiji Live website reports this comes as Fiji's hoteliers recover from the six strikes since the start of the year.

The Fiji Hotel Association president Dixon Seeto, who aired the proposal at the interim Government's mini-economic summit last week, says there are other disputes yet to be resolved.

Under Fiji's labour laws, employees of organizations classified as essential services do not have the right to form a union, only a staff association and these services cannot go on strike.

The President of the country's largest union body, the Fiji Trade Union Congress, Felix Anthony, says the proposal is flawed.

Mr Anthony says the real issues driving the tourism industry staff to take industrial action need to be considered.

He says unless and until the issues plaguing workers in the tourism sector are resolved, it will not matter whether it is classified as an essential service or not.

Meanwhile, the tourism working group also proposed the Fiji Visitors Bureau, the marketing arm of Fiji's tourism industry, be given a mulit million dollar lift in budget.