Nikhil Aiyush Kumar 
Minister for Employment Agni Deo Singh
Union membership in Fiji dropped from 32 percent to nine percent over the past 16 years due to strict laws and decrees seen as unfair to workers and unions by the previous government.
Therefore Minister for Employment Agni Deo Singh says the Coalition government’s first steps included changing some laws to match International Labour Organization standards.
Singh says that this has allowed unions to fully exercise their rights and push for better working conditions.
The Minister says that due to restrictive labor laws and regulation the union densities has fallen sharply which has decreased adherence to important standards.
“Union density at one time used to be around 32 to 36 percent. And in the reign of the previous administration in that 16 years, because of the erosion of the rights of workers, because of all those decrees and all those laws that were anti-worker and anti-trade unions, the density actually went down to almost 9 percent, around 9 percent according to the FTUC sources.”
Singh states that a high union density often indicates stronger collective bargaining power for workers, leading to better wages, benefits, and working conditions
He adds that they began with reviewing the essential industries listing to ensure that it complies with the ILO listing as now a large number of unions that were under essential industries are free to fully exercise their rights.
Singh says that while measures have been welcomed by trade unions and workers alike, the government has further indicated that additional steps are in the pipeline to further strengthen labor rights.
