Edward Bernard. [Photo Credit: Parliament of the Republic of Fiji]

The Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation says the Employment Relations Bill before Parliament risks overhauling Fiji’s entire labour law framework without a clear policy direction to justify such sweeping changes.

While making submission to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economic Affairs in Suva today, FCEF Chief Executive Edward Bernard says that while improvements have been made to the draft Bill the reforms still lack a guiding national framework.

Bernard says this Bill represents progress, but it remains incomplete, and the government must establish a clear, evidence-based policy direction to guide reforms of this magnitude, otherwise, risk changing an entire Act without knowing whether those amendments truly strengthen our labour market or support national development.

The Federation has raised concern over the 190 proposed amendments across 266 clauses, saying they were introduced without sufficient analysis or alignment with Fiji’s National Development Plan.

Among its key concerns, FCEF says the Bill fails to address the current skills and labour shortages affecting key industries, reflect modern work, practices such as gig, outsourcing, and remote work, provide incentives for productivity and innovation at the enterprise level, and include stronger measures to empower women, youth, and persons with disabilities in the workforce.

Bernard said the Federation supports modernising Fiji’s labour laws but warned against overregulation that could deter investment and job creation.

“The actual amended annotated bill has not been shared widely. And I think this will be a major constraint in trying to understand what is there currently and what actually has been changed.”

Bernard is urging all private sector representatives to take part in the discussions as this is a critical opportunity to shape legislation that impacts how we work, employ, and grow as a nation.

The Standing Committee is accepting public submissions on the Bill until 12 November 2025.

The FCEF MSME Council and Women Entrepreneurs & Business Council are expected to present their submissions on 20 October 2025.

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