Peceli Naviticoko 
China Railway Group employees who were on strike today at Nokonoko Depot.
More than hundreds of workers of China Railway 5th group at the Nokonoko Depot went on strike today.
This after China Railway group management advices them on the reduction of working days from five to two days in a week.
These workers are part of the Central Maintenance Project under the China Railway Group who are contractors to Fiji Roads Authority.
Union Secretary, John Paul is calling on relevant authorities and stakeholders to consider the decision and look into the matter.
“You got to understand the livelihood of the workers and they are families and many of them going to affected badly, we need to correct this and of course under their contract the employers is also caught up with an obligation to provide work and there is no notice so I’m calling on the stakeholders, FRA the employer and we represent the worker that we should meet quickly and find a way out, a better path forward.”
China Railway 5th Group Project Manager, Ryan Hatch says they work according to the FRA.
“We’ve had severe budget cuts to our operation budget so for that we have to reduce the number of teams that operate on a daily basis until further instruction from FRA”
Fiji Roads Authority Chief Executive Officer, Kamal Prasad says they are working within the budget.
“So we have to work within the budget that is provided to us, through the Ministry of Finance, and we have to make sure that we are within the budget by the end of the financial year, hence we are doing prudent accounting, making sure there enough budget to last us till the end.”
The Ministry of Public Works has also confirmed that they will have to liaise with Fiji Roads Authority on the issue.
