Felix Chaudhary 
Fiji Trades Union Congress national secretary Felix Anthony
Fiji Trades Union Congress national secretary Felix Anthony has hit out at the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation for comments made in a recent statement over labour law amendments.
FCEF chief executive office Edward Bernard issued a statement earlier today, claiming the amendments would increase the cost of doing business, and impact on jobs and economic growth.
Bernard also said the proposed amendments did not address productivity and claimed the proposed new fines for breaches of labour laws were unfair on businesses.
FTUC national secretary Felix Anthony claimed Bernard had not attended any of the labour law review meetings.
“The FCEF CEO is talking about the proposed amendments not addressing productivity, he can’t blame Government or the unions for that if they didn’t raise the issue during the review meetings,” And productivity cannot be forced through a law – it’s a workplace issue that has to be addressed through the employer and employees, Mr Bernard needs to understand that.”
Anthony said the FTUC supported the proposed hike in fines and disciplinary measures against employers because of the breaches that had happened in the past.
“Mr Bernard should read the International Labour Organisation’s Committee of Experts report into Fiji where the FTUC submitted a list of areas where we saw blatant breaches. “This was where employers treated employees unfairly, there were overtime and pay issues and the fines were $100. “Employers took advantage of this over the years and the increase in fines is being proposed to act as a deterrent – to stop employers from behaving badly and getting away with it.”
