11 Aug 2011

Fiji's interim govt to meet with ILO officials

6:32 am on 11 August 2011

Fiji's interim government says it is planning to meet with International Labour Organisation officials.

The organisation is the country to investigate reports of harassment of trade unionists; it is especially concerned with the recent arrest of two vocal unionists.

In a press conference, the interim Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum, says the interim prime minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama will meet with the ILO team tomorrow.

He added his office will meet the ILO delegation today to clarify legal issues.

"There are obviously quite a bit of misinformation being spread by certain quarters including perhaps trade unionists from Fiji and various other international organisations and we find and we look forward to the meeting as a great opportunity to clarify much of the misinformation that has been spread and indeed told to the international community."

Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum also added that the two trade unionists arrested recently were done so because they breached a provision in the Public Order Act.

He says they were not arrested because they were trade unionists despite reports saying that was the case.