Apenisa Waqairadovu 
Employment Minister Agni Deo Singh.
The review of the labour laws and the setting up of a tripartite forum will eventually happen after a promise to the International Labour Organization was made almost a decade ago.
Minister for Employment Agni Deo Singh made the assurance in the presence of ILO representatives.
Singh says one of the first moves by the government was to set up a Tripartite Forum as per ILO Convention 144.
He says that because of the absence of this forum, workers’ rights were exploited.
“At the first meeting of this Employment Relations Advisory Board a subcommittee was appointed to go through the Labour Law review that had been due for over a decade, a commitment we had made to ILO in 2016 but we never kept it.”
Singh promises more benefits for the workers in the future.
“We are now in the process of revising those laws, and once we have reviewed them, all the workers’ rights will be reinstated. In fact, they have been reinstated in practice; it’s just that they’re getting the paperwork done.”
Singh also says the government will ensure that businesses thrive and employers are also afforded their rights.
He adds that the Ministry of Employment aims to bring workers and employers together and harmonize the work environment.
Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
