Industrial Strike Must Be A Measure Of Last Resort
‘Put people of Fiji before politics and parochialism’
While the Fijian Constitution guarantees the right to peaceful assembly, demonstration and picketing as well as confers to trade unions and employers the right to bargain collectively, strikes and lockouts must be a measure of last resort considering its disruptive and potentially deleterious consequences.
It is imperative that the remedies for employment disputes and grievances outlined in national legislative framework namely the Employment Relations Act (ERA) are fully exhausted before a strike or a lockout is even considered.
It must be noted that even the International Labour Organisation (ILO) position is that “disputes over rights set out in law, collective agreements or contracts of employment are often not considered to justify recourse to strike action.
This is because the parties are expected to have recourse to adjudication by the relevant judicial or other body to resolve the dispute, following any conciliation procedure that may be applicable”. Due consideration must also be given to the fact that health services falls within the ambit of essential services.
The ILO has taken the position that “it is admissible to limit or prohibit the right to strike in essential services, defined as those the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population”.
The right to strike is not absolute and often subjected to certain legal conditions or restrictions as recognised by the ILO.
The Commission, therefore, implores those calling for an unlawful walkout to take full cognisance of the limitations set out under Section 20 (5) (e) and (f) of the Fijian Constitution and fully exhaust the processes of good faith in bargaining for collective agreement as outlined under s.149 of the ERA, the development of a code of good faith as per the provisions of s.152 with an explicit reference to s.174 of the ERA which provides that where a strike or lockout is threatened in an essential service that there is an opportunity for a mediated solution to the problem.
In the interests of protecting the economic and social wellbeing of not only our nurses but also the social and economic rights of ordinary Fijians particularly the indigent, the most vulnerable in our society who have no other recourse but to our public health facilities, the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission strongly encourages all parties to act in good faith in bargaining for a collective agreement.
This will require putting the people of Fiji before politics and parochialism.