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 5th 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 5th 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;
- The 5% pay cut for teachers and civil servants is restored immediately or by December 31st 2007.
There should be no more reduction of civil servants’ pay in Fiji during the rule of the IR.
- The compulsory retirement age should be restored at 60 and not lowered to 55 as
directed by the IR.
- 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;
- Fijian Teachers Association [4,200 members]
- Public Employees Union [6,000 members]
- Fiji Nursing Association [3,000 members]
- 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 5th 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.
