Airline Staff Association wants to be consulted on way forward

The Federated Airline Staff Association (FASA) will be hosting a talanoa session in Nadi today in regards to their reinstatement into the Air Terminal Services (Fiji) Limited workforce.

FASA claims it was not consulted by ATS on the process to discuss the way forward.

Last week in Nadi, Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Viliame Gavoka said those who were sacked during the COVID-19 pandemic would be reinstated.

FASA national secretary Rimal Kumar said the executives had written to the company expressing their readiness to meet and discuss the reinstatement process. “In its reply to our letter the company indicated that it has placed an expression of interest in the dailies on January, 17 2023 with a 21 days expiry,” he said.

“The expression of interest stated that former employees who lost their employment with Air Terminal Services (Fiji) Pte Limited during Covid-19 pandemic are invited to submit their expressions of interest to re-join the company.”

Mr Kumar said the union, as their representative, was not consulted or agreed to the process. “The collective agreement must be adhered to while allowing due process to be followed. We are working with a new government that recognises the union and the plight of workers of this country,” he added.

“We request your patience, continuous support and understanding as we engage the company to resolve any issues relating to our reinstatement.”

ATS Board chair, Parvez Akbar said, the team was already engaging with them.

“There is correspondence going on. We have requested some information from them as well so we can facilitate that process of recruitment,” he said.

Mr Akbar said the majority of 285 ATS workers who were dismissed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic were back in the workforce.

To clarify this further, the FASA executive team will host a talanoa session at the Cawa Chapel Hall, Cawa Road, Martintar in Nadi from 5pm.