SOME WORDS OF WISDOM

There was a country long time ago where the people would change a king every year. The person who would become the king had to agree to a contract that he would be sent to an island after his one year of being a king.

One king finished his term and it was time for him to go to the island and live there. The people dressed him up in expensive clothes and put him on an elephant and took him around the cities to say goodbye to all the people.

This was the moment of sadness for all the kings who ruled for one year. After saying farewell, the people took the king with a boat to the remote island and left him there.

On their way back, they discovered a ship that had sunk just recently. They saw a young man who survived by holding on to a floating piece of wood. As they needed a new king, they picked up the young man and took him to their country.

They requested him to be a king for a year. First he refused but later he agreed to be a king. People told him about all the rules and regulations and that how he will be sent to an island after one year.

After three days of being a king, he asked the ministers if they could show him the island where all the other kings were sent. They agreed and took him to the island. The island was covered with thick jungles and sounds of vicious animals were heard coming out of them. The king went little bit inside to check. Soon he discovered the dead bodies of all the past kings. He understood that as soon as they were left in the island, the animals came and killed them.

The king went back to the country and collected 100 strong workers. He took them to the island and instructed them to clean the jungle, remove all the deadly animals and cut down all the excess trees. He would visit the island every month to see how the work was progressing. In the first month, all the animals were removed and many trees were cut down.

In the second month, the whole island was cleaned out. The king then told the workers to plant gardens in various parts of the island. He also took with himself useful animals like chickens, ducks, birds, goats, cows etc. In the third month, he ordered the workers to build big houses and docking stations for ships. Over the months, the island turned into a beautiful place.

The young king would wear simple clothes and spend very little from his earnings as a king. He sent all the earnings to the island for storage. When nine months passed like this, the king called the ministers and told them:

"I know that I have to go the island after one year, but I would like to go there right now." But the ministers didn't agree to this and said that he has to wait for another 3 months to complete the year.

3 months passed and now it was a full year. The people dressed up the young king and put him on an elephant to take him around the country to say goodbye to others. However, this king is unusually happy to leave the kingdom.

People asked him, "All the other kings would cry at this moment and why are you laughing?"

He replied, "Don't you know what the wise people say? They say that when you came to this world as a baby, you were crying and everyone was smiling. Live such a life that when you are die, you will be smiling and everyone around you will be crying. I have lived that life.

While all the other kings were lost into the luxuries of the kingdom, I always thought about the future and planned for it. I turned the deadly island into a beautiful abode for me where I can stay peacefully."

The moral lesson from this story is about how we should live our life. The life of this world is to prepare for the life hereafter. In this life, we shouldn't get lost into the deceiving and attractive things of this world and forget about what is to come in the afterlife

FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST

I wish to congratulate the Fijian Teachers Association for standing by it's principles and implementing the strike mandate declared by the members. Your exhausting all possible avenues speaks volume of your care for the laws and welfare of Fiji and concern to do the right thing.

May your faith and steadfastness be blessed most abundantly by the good Lord Jesus Christ.

Babu Lal

MILITARY TAKES TANIELA TABU TO CAMP

1.0 FTA is ready for the strike at 8.00 a.m. tomorrow

2.0 Viti National Union of Taukei Workers General
Secretary was been taken up to the Military Camp
early this morning and is yet to return.(3.30 pm.)

3.0 FTA has sought legal opinion(Howards) and action
on government to call for compulsory arbitration,
something which the government has been reluctant to do.

FIJIAN TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

STATEMENT ON THE CURRENT INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE

BETWEEN FIJI’S INTERIM REGIME AND THE FIJIAN TEACHERS

ASSOCIATION

[TOGETHER WITH THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES UNION AND

THE VITI NATIONAL UNION OF TAUKEI WORKERS]

[JULY 2007]

Following the military take over of Fiji’s democratically elected government on the 5^th of December, 2006, the Interim Regime made drastic changes which affected the salaries and wages together with the conditions of service of civil servants in Fiji. Some of these are outlined below which the Fijian Teachers Association [FTA] and other public sector unions protested against strongly.

During the Interim Regime’s [IR] revised budget in March 2007, the following announcements affecting the civil servants were made;

[1] That the salaries and wages of all permanent and temporary staff in Fiji’s civil service would be reduced by 5% in March 2006.

[2] That the compulsory retirement age for all government workers would be reduced from 60 to 55 immediately.

[3] And That the Partnership Agreement signed between the elected government of 2006 and the public sector unions would be shelved.

The FTA and the rest of the public sector unions had voiced their protest against the IR’s unilateral decision and had followed the proper industrial disputes mechanism under the Fiji laws to raise their concerns with the IR.

In April 2007, FTA conducted its secret ballot with its membership and 78% of those who cast their votes for industrial action, voted in favour.

In May, 2007 the annual conference of the FTA held in Suva, unanimously endorsed the results of the strike mandate, to proceed with the strike should negotiations and consultations with the IR fail to reach an amicable solution.

Between the months of May and July, the officials of FTA and sister unions in the public sector continued to attend consultative talks with the IR ministers convened by the IR’s Minister for Labour and Industrial Relations.

Since the talks were not making much headway, FTA together with the above sister unions in the public sector filed for industrial action on the 5^th of July, 2007 with the Ministry of Labour and Industrial Relations.

Talks continued during the months of July, but again there was not much progress made.

FTA’s positions on the above issues are that;

1. The 5% pay cut for teachers and civil servants is restored immediately or by December 31^st 2007.

There should be no more reduction of civil servants’ pay in Fiji during the rule of the IR.

2. The compulsory retirement age should be restored at 60 and not lowered to 55 as

directed by the IR.

3. The Partnership Agreement, which includes issues like the Job Evaluation Implementation, the Performance Management System, and the In- service Training Allocation for civil servants must be retained and implemented from 2008.

The issues are clear and specific, which for the last few months had been constantly discussed by the parties at the discussion table. Cabinet has not made a decision as such, although the IR Minister for Finance had broke a deal with the Fiji Teachers Union [FTU] and the Fiji Public Service Association [FPSA] to settle at 1% pay restoration by December, 2007, and to defer the rest of the issues to a later date.

There are six unions that serve Fiji’s civil service, and two have broken the above deal while the rest of the unions are still to come to a settlement, these are the;

1. Fijian Teachers Association [4,200 members]
2. Public Employees Union [6,000 members]
3. Fiji Nursing Association [3,000 members]
4. Viti National Union of Taukei Workers [1,500 members]

FTU and FPSA hold about 4,100 and 4,000 members respectively.

FTA, in its preparation for a nation wide strike on 2/08/07 failing any settlement, wishes to appeal to the Education International and affiliates of EI particularly in Australia and New Zealand and elsewhere for solidarity support and assistance during our time of standing up for the rights of teachers in Fiji.

At the 5^th Congress of EI in July 2007, in Berlin, Germany, FTA President, Mr. Koroi had also voiced FTA’s plea for solidarity support for the teachers’ industrial action in Fiji.

Fiji has had four coup de ‘tat since 1987, and the salaries of civil servants had been deducted three times.

We the civil servants in Fiji have had enough of coups, and enough salary cuts. No more salary cuts! No more coups! We deserve a better system of running the affairs of this nation, and we plead for the support of workers in education world wide for messages and assistance for support for your brother and sisters in Fiji.

Yours in unionism,

Tevita Koroi

President,

Fijian Teachers Association,

Fiji Islands.

FTA Strike

FTA STRIKE ACTION

The Fijian Teachers Association will go on strike on Thursday 2 August, 2007 unless the Interim Government agrees to their rightful demands or refers the matter to the Industrial Dispute machinery for Compulsory Arbitration. The strike will start at 8 am and end at 4 pm daily until the issues are resolved.

FTA members will carry out the strike action at their respective schools. The Trade Disputes Act is the legislation that allows Strikers to remain at their work stations.

FTA members are also reminded that should they move out of their work stations and create a strike site outside the boundary, they may be liable under the Public Order Act and Police would be able to take action against members.