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The Essential National Industries (Employment) Decree 2011 is a controversial decree issued by the military-led 'interim government' of the Republic of Fiji in September 2011. It was followed a few days later by the Essential National Industries and Designated Corporations Regulations 2011.
On 5 December 2006, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, head of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, overthrew democratically elected indigenous nationalist conservative Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, and took his place at the head of an "interim government," composed of both civilian and military ministers. Bainimarama stated that his main reasons for overthrowing the Qarase government were that it was corrupt, and that it was conducting racially discriminatory policies against the country's Indo-Fijian minority - namely its policy of "affirmative action" in favour of the indigenous majority. In a speech publicly announcing the coup, he stated that Qarase's policies had "divided the nation now and will have very serious consequences to our future generations." He promised to amend the race-based electoral rolls, so as to "lead us into peace and prosperity and mend the ever widening racial divide that currently besets our multicultural nation". [1]
Subsequently, his government abolished the Constitution and imposed strict censorship of the media. [2]
For several months, there had been considerable concern, expressed particularly by foreign trades union organisations, about restrictions on the rights of unions in Fiji, including acts of violence against unionists.
In February 2011, Amnesty International expressed concern about "the reported detention and beating of several trade unionists" in Fiji. [3]
In March, the Trades Union Congress in the United Kingdom sent a protest to the Fiji High Commission in London, and issued the following statement:
In July, Australia's Transport Workers Union threatened to disrupt flights to Fiji unless Qantas took steps to protect its Fiji-based workers "from state-sanctioned violence." This followed claims by Fijian union members, particularly baggage handlers, that they had been punched, kicked and "hit with rubber belts" by soldiers questioning their loyalty to the government. The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions said it shared the Australian union's concerns, and issued the following statement: "We are very concerned about the physical intimidation and beatings of union officials in Fiji and also the decrees that remove work rights". [5]
In August, the Australian Council of Trade Unions condemned the police break-up of a meeting of the Fiji Trades Union Congress in Nadi. [6]
The same month, Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the British TUC, wrote again to the Fiji High Commissioner in London, to express
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions and Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand held a protest following Urai's arrest for unlawful assembly. Helen Kelly, President of the CTU, stated that "earlier in the year, Felix Anthony of the FTUC was physically assaulted. The regime is perpetrating a deliberate attack on trade union rights by issuing decrees making it almost impossible for unions to function and removing internationally recognized civil rights of freedom of assembly and collective bargaining." [8]
The decree was officially issued by the President of Fiji, Epeli Nailatikau, whose role as head of State is an essentially ceremonial one. Its main stated objective is to "ensure the present and continued viability and sustainability of essential national industries for the benefit of Fiji".
Its terms are as follows:
The Essential National Industries and Designated Corporations Regulations 2011 were issued by Commodore Bainimarama on 8 September "in exercise of the powers vested in me by section 31" of the Decree, to come into force the following day. They provided a list of the country's "essential national industries", as determined by Bainimarama. They are: the ANZ Bank, the Bank of Baroda, the Bank South Pacific, Westpac, the Fiji Revenue & Customs Authority, Fiji International Telecommunications, Telecom Fiji, the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation, Air Pacific, the Fiji Electricity Authority, and the Water Authority of Fiji.
Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum played down the idea that there was anything exceptional about the Decree, during a press conference prior to its finalisation. He argued that "some countries restrict any strikes in essential services", and that "the principle of essential services is not anything new". In response to union reactions, he argued that the decree would actually preserve jobs: "We have found in companies that are financially unstable that if certain steps aren’t taken, they could close down therefore there’ll be job losses. Unionists that are not employees don’t have a particular self interest in preserving or maintaining the life of the company. You have to maintain the life of the company to make sure jobs are secure". [9]
The Fiji Times , subject to government censorship, reported simply that "[t]he terms of the Essential National Industries (Employment) Decree 2011 [...] will govern the labour laws of the declared enterprises, ensuring the viability and sustainability of the industries while protecting fundamental workers' rights". It quoted Sayed-Khaiyum's statement that "[t]he Government takes providing for and protecting workers' rights very seriously". [10]
The Fiji Sun published an explanatory article by the Ministry of Information, including a list of "frequently asked questions" to reassure readers. To the question "Does the decree remove workers' right to strike, as some have claimed?", the answer provided is: "No. The decree upholds the fundamental principle that workers may strike. Just as many other countries do, it makes it subject to certain conditions, including providing employees with a vote in favour or against it." And to the question "Are employers allowed to impose terms and conditions on workers?", the answer given is: "A due process must be followed as set out in the decree, involving good faith negotiations for at least 60 days in the case of a replacement agreement. Only after that would an employer have the right to implement new terms and conditions. Employees would have the right to appeal to the Minister for a review of the new terms."
The final question is "What is your response to the claim that the Government has wiped out decades of advances for its workers?", with the government responding:
No public protests or demonstrations are allowed in Fiji, but the Fiji Trades Union Congress issued a statement saying the Decree "offers major weapons to the employers to utilise against unions [...] It outlaws professional trade unionists, eliminates existing collective agreements, promotes a biased system of non-professional bargaining agents to represent workers, severely restricts industrial action, strengthens sanctions against legally striking workers and bans overtime payments and other allowances for workers in 24-hour operations". Attar Singh, General Secretary for the Fiji Islands Council of Trade Unions, said: "We have never seen anything worse than this decree. It is without doubt designed to decimate unions [...] by giving [employers] an unfair advantage over workers and unions". [9]
Amnesty International condemned the Decree as "a breathtaking abuse of fundamental rights [which] takes away nearly all collective bargaining rights in essential companies [and] virtually abolishes the right to strike". [12] It added: "Fundamental human rights are at stake, including the right to freedom of association and assembly, and the right to organise. Amnesty International stands steadfast in solidarity with workers in Fiji and the Fiji labour movement in their struggle to defend their rights." [13]
Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Organization, stated:
Mahendra Chaudhry, leader of the Fiji Labour Party, published a statement in July which did not specifically mention the Decree but addressed the government's broader policies in relation to trade unions:
Shaista Shameem, former director of the Fiji Human Rights Commission, who had at first supported the 2006 military coup, stated that "many rights have been completely diminished or even removed" by the Decree. She added that it showed the Bainimarama government was no longer interested in consensual policy-making. [12]
In October, during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Australia, Ged Kearney, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, said that, within the Commonwealth, the worst abuses of workers' rights were currently occurring in Fiji and in Swaziland. The Commonwealth Trade Union Group called for condemnation of the Decree. [16]
Sayed-Khaiyum dismissed the criticism, saying much of it was based on "misinformation". [17]
In late October and early November, Fijian Trades Union Congress leaders Daniel Urai and Felix Anthony were both separately arrested, and reportedly held without charge. The Australian government said the Fiji authorities were "targeting and intimidating trade unionists". [18]
A trade union or labor union, often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages and benefits, improving working conditions, improving safety standards, establishing complaint procedures, developing rules governing status of employees and protecting and increasing the bargaining power of workers.
Labour laws, labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, employer, and union.
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when it merged with the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) to form the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act, is a foundational statute of United States labor law that guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take collective action such as strikes. Central to the act was a ban on company unions. The act was written by Senator Robert F. Wagner, passed by the 74th United States Congress, and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the Industrial Revolution, when mass labor became important in factories and mines. As striking became a more common practice, governments were often pushed to act. When government intervention occurred, it was rarely neutral or amicable. Early strikes were often deemed unlawful conspiracies or anti-competitive cartel action and many were subject to massive legal repression by state police, federal military power, and federal courts. Many Western nations legalized striking under certain conditions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The interests of the employees are commonly presented by representatives of a trade union to which the employees belong. A collective agreement reached by these negotiations functions as a labour contract between an employer and one or more unions, and typically establishes terms regarding wage scales, working hours, training, health and safety, overtime, grievance mechanisms, and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs. Such agreements can also include 'productivity bargaining' in which workers agree to changes to working practices in return for higher pay or greater job security.
United Kingdom labour law regulates the relations between workers, employers and trade unions. People at work in the UK have a minimum set of employment rights, from Acts of Parliament, Regulations, common law and equity. This includes the right to a minimum wage of £11.44 for over-23-year-olds from April 2023 under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998. The Working Time Regulations 1998 give the right to 28 days paid holidays, breaks from work, and attempt to limit long working hours. The Employment Rights Act 1996 gives the right to leave for child care, and the right to request flexible working patterns. The Pensions Act 2008 gives the right to be automatically enrolled in a basic occupational pension, whose funds must be protected according to the Pensions Act 1995. Workers must be able to vote for trustees of their occupational pensions under the Pensions Act 2004. In some enterprises, such as universities or NHS foundation trusts, staff can vote for the directors of the organisation. In enterprises with over 50 staff, workers must be negotiated with, with a view to agreement on any contract or workplace organisation changes, major economic developments or difficulties. The UK Corporate Governance Code recommends worker involvement in voting for a listed company's board of directors but does not yet follow international standards in protecting the right to vote in law. Collective bargaining, between democratically organised trade unions and the enterprise's management, has been seen as a "single channel" for individual workers to counteract the employer's abuse of power when it dismisses staff or fix the terms of work. Collective agreements are ultimately backed up by a trade union's right to strike: a fundamental requirement of democratic society in international law. Under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 strike action is protected when it is "in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute".
Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama is a Fijian former politician and naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst party, which he founded in 2014, he began his career as an officer in the Fijian navy and commander of the Fijian military. Despite being suspended from Parliament, he served as the opposition leader from 24 December 2022 until 8 March 2023, when he resigned and was replaced by Inia Seruiratu.
Trade unions in Malaysia are regulated by the Trade Unions Act of 1959 and the Industrial Relations Act of 1967.
The Australian labour movement began in the early 19th century and since the late 19th century has included industrial and political wings. Trade unions in Australia may be organised on the basis of craft unionism, general unionism, or industrial unionism. Almost all unions in Australia are affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), many of which have undergone a significant process of amalgamations, especially in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The leadership and membership of unions hold and have at other times held a wide range of political views, including socialist, democratic and right-wing views.
Kenneth Vincent Zinck is a former Fijian trade unionist, politician and Cabinet Minister, who served as Minister of Labour in the government of Laisenia Qarase from 2001 to 2006. In the aftermath of the 2006 Fijian coup d'état he sought political asylum in Australia.
Daniel Urai, also known as Daniel Urai Manufolau, is a Fijian trade unionist and former politician.
Trade unions in South Africa has a history dating back to the 1880s. From the beginning unions could be viewed as a reflection of the racial disunity of the country, with the earliest unions being predominantly for white workers. Through the turbulent years of 1948–1991 trade unions played an important part in developing political and economic resistance, and eventually were one of the driving forces in realising the transition to an inclusive democratic government.
Trade unions in Ghana first emerged in the 1920s and have played an important role in the country's economy and politics ever since.
Jagannath Sami has been a soccer player representing a premier district side in the Fiji Football Association competitions, a leader of the sugar mill workers, a leader of a farmers' union, a politician and chief executive officer of the Sugar Cane Growers Council but he is best known for the controversy surrounding his dismissal as the CEO of the SCGC by the military regime of Commodore Josaia Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama following the military coup of 2006.
Wilson v United Kingdom [2002] ECHR 552 is a United Kingdom labour law and European labour law case concerning discrimination by employers against their workers who join and take action through trade unions. After a long series of appeals through the UK court system, the European Court of Human Rights held that ECHR article 11 protects the fundamental right of people to join a trade union, engage in union related activities and take action as a last resort to protect their interests.
The Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ) is responsible for the application of the laws and regulations that govern the construction industry in the province of Quebec. Funded by the industry's employers and employees, the CCQ offers numerous services in the areas of social services, vocational training, workforce management, and application of the construction industry's collective agreements.
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