Major changes in relation to employment terms and conditions are expected in corporations that will come under the Essential National Industries Employment Decree.  

It is also stated that upon commencement of the decree, all members, office bearers, officers and executives of the union within a designated corporation or company must be employees of the designated company.

This means that any union executive or official who is not part of the company’s workforce cannot be the company’s workers union representative.

Any union registered which represents workers employed by the designated corporations must also re-register as a representative.

The Essential National Industries Employment Decree states that any person or body or any union representative who fails to comply shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or five years imprisonment or both, and in the case of a union to a fine not exceeding $100,000.

It is also stated that upon commencement of the decree, all existing collective agreements will only be valid for a period of 60 days while new or replacement collective agreements are negotiated.

These are agreements between the employers and the employees which regulate the terms and conditions of employees in their workplace.

If no new collective agreement is in place, then the designated corporation may implement new terms and conditions of employment through a new collective agreement or individual contracts.
 
If an employer under the Essential National Industries Employment Decree has suffered operating losses for two consecutive years, it shall have the immediate right to re-negotiate all its existing collective agreements.

If no agreements can be reached following negotiations during a set timeframe, the employer’s proposal is to be submitted to the Minister and following consultation with the Minister for Industry and Trade, the Minister shall make a decision of the terms and conditions of the new or amended collective agreement, which shall be final and binding on all parties.

Still on the decree:

The new Essential National Industries Employment Decree states that given the nature of their employment, flight duty restrictions and duty period scheduling, no pilot, cabin crew, or engineer employed or engaged in any airline industry shall be eligible for overtime pay, unless otherwise agreed by the employer and the representative.

It further states that no person employed in any “designated corporation” that operates on a full-time 7 days a week or 24 hours a day shall, unless otherwise mutually agreed upon by the employer and the representative, be entitled to any overtime pay for work performed on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays.

There shall be no requirement for an employer under the decree to deduct union fees from a worker’s salary or wages unless agreed otherwise by the employer.

The decree further states that the Wages Council shall have no jurisdiction over any “designated corporation” or essential national industry, and any order, determination or regulations of the Wages Council shall not apply to “designated corporation” or essential national industry.
 
President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau has gazetted the Essential National Industries Employment Decree and it is stated that the purpose of the decree is to ensure the viability and sustain-ability of certain industries that are essential to the Fijian economy.

The decree has defined designated corporations or companies which operate in an essential national industry and these companies will be designated by the Minister.

An essential industry is also termed as those which the government has a majority and essential interest in.


Story by: Vijay Narayan