Updated: 8:50am – Civil servants are being advised not to be swayed by political rhetoric and dishonest advice that intends to steer them away from positive civil service reforms.
Civil Service Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has blasted failed current and former politicians for using Saturday’s Fiji Trade Union Congress march as a platform to revive their political careers.
“Felix, Mahendra Chaudhry, Lynda Tabuya, these people are now trying to resuscitate their political careers. They have been in political oblivion’s, that’s the point these people did not even make the five percent, they are using the workers of these five hundred workers they just turned up today on their backs to again launch their political careers. If there was such a huge outcry of workers you would have had thousands. There is ten thousand teachers in Fiji, there are about 6000 to 7000 nurses in Fiji, this is altogether 28,000 civil servants where were they? They are obviously satisfied with what is happening. If you look at some of the people who were there they were actually political people.”
Fiji Public Sector Association General Secretary Rajeshwar Singh claims it’s only fighting for its member’s rights.
“Collective bargaining, rights of our members have been taken away, there is no right to strike in the public service as we hear, keeps coming to us that there is no right to take secret ballot even so these are some of the things the workers are worried about.”
The Minister believes the union is misleading its members about strike rules saying anyone can strike if they follow procedures.
“There are constitutional provisions, there are provisions within the employment relations act that says people do have a right to strike however you have to follow particular processes, this are what the unions are not telling obscuration by some certain trade union leaders, everybody has a right to strike but you have to go through a process.”
The Minister adds trade unions are deliberately not representing workers from the most difficult sectors where there have been abuse of workers because the union finds it too difficult to collect union subscription from these workers.
-FBC
