The Employment Ministry today hosted a private sector information and consultation session where members of the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation raised significant concerns about proposed amendments in the Employment Relations Bill and the Work Care Bill.

The main concerns centred on the proposed introduction of new penalties related to workplace sexual harassment.

During the consultation, Ministry of Employment Director of Labour Standard Services Atish Kumar outlined the proposed amendments, including substantial fines for both individuals and companies found guilty of harassment.

For individual offenders, fines could reach up to $50,000, while companies could face penalties of up to $200,000.

Furthermore, companies could be held liable for harassment committed by individuals if they fail to report or take necessary action.

The proposal also includes fines of $40,000 for individuals found guilty of harassment, and for companies, penalties could be accompanied by up to three years in prison.

Kumar stated that the new proposals were designed to comply with ILO Convention 190, which emphasizes eliminating violence and harassment in the workplace.

“So every employer must ensure currently, for the past 17 years, we have a national policy on sexual harassment and every employer must make an effort in terms of ensuring that they educate the workers in terms of this process.”

RB Patel General Manager Operations, Jignesh Chauhan, expressed concerns about holding companies accountable for the actions of individuals.

“My question is, why fine the company? At the moment, the current law as it stands, we are obligated to deal with this. And, yes, it is a very serious policy. We actually are very strict on this ourselves as an organization. And we feel there is adequate information out there. And we deal with it very quickly and very efficiently. My question is, why criminalize the company for an individual’s act?”

Responding to this, Director Kumar emphasized that employers have a legal obligation to create and enforce sexual harassment policies. Failure to follow due process could result in fines.