Apenisa Waqairadovu 
Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad says the coalition government is committed to providing a better, more harmonious, and cordial industrial relations environment in the country.
The Minister made the comment after a successful deal was struck for the reinstatement of 285 workers from Air Terminal Services earlier this week.
Prasad says the Employment Minister is ensuring the government achieves its commitments to workers and the employment industry.
He adds that tripartite negotiations are part of this commitment, where the government, employer, and unions come together to discuss the way forward.
He adds that the government is doing its best to compensate workers who were laid off in businesses where the government is a shareholder.
Audio Player“The employees suffered the most; they suffered in terms of their employment, and in terms of the FNPF, they suffered in terms of loss of jobs. And so, what was COVID? You know, it is our responsibility as a government to ensure that all those organizations where government has shareholding or influence, we want those employees to be compensated.”
The Deputy Prime Minister says some decisions taken during COVID were made in haste.
Prasad says they hope that appropriate remedies to the suffering of the workers during this time are provided by businesses that laid workers off during the pandemic, as the government is doing the same.
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