Unification meeting a major milestone: Anthony
The meeting of two rival trade union groups to unite against Government is a major milestone, says Felix Anthony.
The general secretary of the Fiji Trades Union Congress said there was a need for collective action on the rights of workers.
The two groups are the FTUC and Fiji Islands Council of Trade Unions.
Mr Anthony was speaking during the National Council Meeting on Saturday.
“We will discuss the unification of Fiji Islands Council of Trade Unions (FICTU) and Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC) and welcome back all the affiliates of FICTU back into FTUC,” he said.
“I think this is a major milestone for the trade union movement in this country and this has become a necessity because of the hostile stance that the Government has taken against trade unions in this country. “We believe that our purpose will be best suited if the workers of this country were united.”
Mr Anthony is amongst trade unionsists / politicians who have been impacted by union leaders having to decide between being a union leader or a politician.
The power of individual union leaders has also been weakened by the increasing move to individual contracts for workers and other reforms. Mr Anthony said that they were hoping to discuss their concerns in regards to the individual contract.
“We believe this is totally against the principles of collective bargaining and weakens the trade union in this country.”
In addition, the members of FTUC and FICTU had discussed national minimum wage. Numerous attempts have been made to reach the Minister for Employment, Productivity and Employment Relations Jone Usamate for comment but there was no reply when this edition went to press.