Commission of inquiry into Fiji labour breaches likely

Transcript

It's believed a commission of inquiry will be launched by the International Labour Organisation to investigate alleged breaches of international labour conventions in Fiji.

In October an ILO mission to Fiji found the country had a lot of work to do and a Memorandum of Understanding was drafted on the future of industrial relations.  

But the president of the Fiji Trade Union Congress, Daniel Urai, says the Government pulled out of it at the last minute and has instead drafted a watered down version.

The Government will present its case to the UN agency in Geneva next week but the website Fijileaks has posted what looks like a draft decision from the ILO, that an inquiry is warranted.    

Daniel Urai told Bridget Tunnicliffe, Fiji will find it hard to defend its actions.

DANIEL URAI: My understanding is the presentation is to explain why they had not amended the decrees which are in breach. Fiji has not done anything about it, I don't know what they will explain to the ILO.  But the decision to have a commission of inquiry into Fiji, my understanding is that has already been made by the governing body. Now Fiji is going to explain why that inquiry should not go ahead.

BRIDGET TUNNICLIFFE: Now I understand in 2012 an ILO mission was turned around at the border when they attempted to investigate complaints in Fiji.

DU: That same team was the one that visited us last year, the one that was turned back.

BT: When the FTUC wrote to the Government in late February asking why the Memorandum of Understanding was quite different, a major deviation from the original agreed draft signed last year, did you get response from the Government?

DU: The Minister of Labour made the response, I understand, of course he disagreed with the position of the Fiji Trade Union Congress and the Employers Federation.

BT: If indeed the ILO does come to the decision that a Commission of Inquiry should be launched in Fiji, do you expect the Fiji government will take it seriously?

DU: Well I hope they take it seriously. I think that was one of the concerns of the Employers Federation, that if the inquiry goes ahead with Fiji and the actions that may be taken by the governing body of ILO [as a result of an inquiry]. The Employers Federation is concerned about [the outcome of an inquiry] which basically leads to some form of trade bans on Fiji until Fiji complies with the convention that is as ratified.

BT: Is it the ILO that can impose certain sanctions?

DU: It's the countries that make up the governing body. You know, this Commission of Inquiry is not an everyday thing, decision made. The last country that the decision was made for was Burma. Obviously after that then Burma had to hold its elections and the leader of the opposition was released from house imprisonment and all those things. It's not a decision that is taken lightly. In fact we hope Fiji doesn't take it lightly as a country.