| Vatukoula mine strike | |
|---|---|
 The Vatukoula mine in 1951. | |
| Date | 27 February 1991 – 4 July 2024 |
| Location | |
| Methods | Strike action |
The Vatukoula mine strike was a 33-year strike by miners at the Vatukoula mine in Fiji, from 1991 to 2024. The strike was the longest in Fijian history and one of the longest strikes in world history. [1] [2]
The Vatukoula mine is a gold mine in Fiji, one of the largest gold mines on Earth.[ further explanation needed ]
On 27 February 1991, 900 workers at the Vatukoula mine walked off the job, launching strike action against the mine's owner, Emperor Gold Mining, over poor working and social conditions. [3] [4] Among the complaints were that the housing for the miners was substandard and overcrowded, that the work safety conditions were poor, as well as that workers were forced to buy their food from the company-owned supermarkets, leaving many of the miners with substantial debts. Complaints also included allegations of "apartheid-like" discrimination, with the European workers in the mine making significantly more money and being housed separately and in better conditions than the Fijian and Indian workers. Adding to the complaints was that Emperor Gold had refused to recognize the Fiji Mine Workers Union. [5]
The Fijian government supported Emperor Gold in the strike, and deployed sixty armed riot police to try and break up picket lines; this led to clashes between the striking miners and the police. In early April 1991, Emperor Gold announced that it would fire half of the striking miners, and attempted to force the miners to accept the letters of dismissal. [6]
As the strike continued into May, Emperor Gold began to face difficulties, with the picket lines effectively blocking any gold from being exported since mid-April. In early May 1991, there was also a significant fire, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage to the mine. The company blamed the fire on the miners. [7] Later that month, two dozen striking miners were arrested for picketing and sentenced to six months suspended sentences. The arrested miners alleged that that company had hired thugs to beat them up after their arrests. [8]
In June 1991, the Fijian government issued an anti-strike decree to try and force the miners back to work. However, the union pledged to continue the strike. [8] According to Steve Painter of Green Left, by November 1991, "The strike has been a bitter affair, with militant picketing, attacks by hired thugs on mineworkers' residential districts, attempts to evict mineworkers' families from their homes, police attacks on picket lines, and at one point a refusal by the local supermarket to sell goods to strikers. The police are fed and supplied on a company account at the same supermarket. The workers have held out thanks to donations of cash and produce from other Fijian unions and from farmers and the public throughout the islands. At one point the government attempted to ban collections in support of the mineworkers. Australian unions and the ACTU have also provided some assistance." [9]
Following the 1992 Fijian general election in May 1992, the first to be held since the 1987 Fijian coups d'état and the abolition of the monarchy, the government led by Sitiveni Rabuka began to shift its position, withdrawing some of the deployed police and beginning to put pressure on the company to recognise the union. [10] By September 1992, the government had ordered the company to negotiate with the union. [11]
In November 2003, anti-poverty NGO Oxfam conducted an investigation into the strike, at the request of the union. In its report, released in 2004, Oxfam wrote that "over 300 people still periodically sit on a picket line outside the mine and complain of hardships endured by their families because they refuse to return to work until their grievances are addressed." [13]
In February 2010, as the strike entered its 19th year, the union appealed to the International Labour Organization and the United Nations Human Rights Council to intervene. [14] Later that year, the IndustriALL Global Union issued a statement calling for the government to negotiate with the miners. [15] In May 2010, the government and the union held a number of new negotiations to try and reach a deal to end the strike. [16] [17] [18] The negotiations, however, failed to finalize a deal, and the strike continued. [19]
By March 2014, as the strike began its 23rd year, eighty-one of the original striking miners had died. [20]
The strike continued through the late 2010s.[ further explanation needed ] [21]
In 2024, negotiations between the government and the striking miners re-opened. [22]
In June 2024, after more than 33 years, an agreement was reached to end the strike. [23] [24] Included in the agreement was a $9.2 million settlement to be paid to the surviving striking miners. [25] [26] [27]
Prime Minister of Fiji Sitiveni Rabuka also issued a formal apology to the miners on behalf of the Fijian government "for the prolonged wait they have endured," saying that the miners "have shown us the true meaning of strength and determination, and [their] fight for justice is an inspiration to us all." [28]