Praneeta Prakash 
[Source: Parliament of the Republic of Fiji/ Facebook]
The Standing Committee on Economic Affairs held its first public consultation on the Employment Relations Bill in Taveuni yesterday.
According to the committee Deputy Chair, Premila Kumar, members of the public shared their insights, concerns, and suggestions to help shape fair and effective employment policies.
Kumar says one of the key topics raised was the proposed six months of unpaid maternity leave, which some small business owners felt could be challenging to manage.
She adds that participants also sought clarity on provisions requiring employers to provide a safe space for breastfeeding mothers and the proposal to increase annual leave from 10 to 12 days.
“There was a discussion around that, how this can be facilitated and obviously, they were more interested in understanding other types of leaves, for example, the annual leave will increase from 10 to 12 days.”
Kumar stresses that the Employment Relations Bill affects everyone from business owners to workers across different sectors and encourages people to make their voices heard.
She says the consultation is a vital step towards fostering better workplace relations and ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard.
“If they don’t give their views now, then it will be too late, and once the bill is passed, then they cannot say that they were not given an opportunity to give their views. It will be too late. So this is the time and this is an opportune time for the members of the public, for the workers, for the employers to come forward and give their views on different sections of the bill.”
The consultation continues in Savusavu today.
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