Q&A with PS Labour, Industrial Relations and and Employment

Submitted by nikid on Tue, 16/06/2009 - 10:37pm

In its bid to promote productivity and employment, the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment has not only successfully endorsed the Employment Relations Promulgation to create and promote good faith relationship between workers and their employers but is currently in the process of planning to re-activate the tripartite forum and establish a National Employment Bureau. The recent meeting held by the Employment Relations Advisory Board (ERAB) in Suva explored these plans along with other prevalent labour issues like scrutinising child labour laws and creating training initiatives for workers in Fiji.

Ministry of Information got an opportunity to speak with the Permanent Secretary for Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Taito Waqa about the need for a tripartite forum, plans for labour empowerment and creating job opportunities for the locals in the coming days.

Q: Sir, briefly explain the roles and responsibilities of Employment Relations Advisory Board?

A: Well the purpose of Employment Relations Advisory Board (ERAB) under the new Employment Relations Law is basically a tripartite stakeholder forum to advice the Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment on the issues and matters relating to employment. I must say that it’s a very powerful forum representing different stakeholders ranging from people and their workers. The representatives are the workers and the employers and also the Non Government Organisation’s (NGO’s) and the key Government agencies. And they collectively discuss policy matters at the tripartite forum, which has to be presented to the Minister immediately after the meeting and than to the Cabinet for approval. So ERAB advises the Minister and than Cabinet has the final discussion on what can be possibly taken up.

Q: Why is there a need for reactivating the tripartite forum and what would be the outcome of reactivating this forum?

A: Well ERAB has the first paper on the reactivation of the tripartite forum. The forum was established years back in 1980’s and it was successful under the Ratu Mara Government initially and it is very informal and it is based on good faith. Its like come in good faith and we will talk without favour and pressure. We focus on issues concerning economic, social and national importance to facilitate economic growth and productivity improvement in the climate of good faith. The forum became dis-functional in 1984 and since than the previous Government’s, they did not reactivate the forum but now this Government is committed to seek dialogue for key policy issues because what we want and what the Government wants is productivity and employment generation in the economy. Government wants to boost employment creation and economic growth. Now we have endorsed the reactivation of tripartite forum to be considered by the Minister for Labour during the upcoming Cabinet meeting.

Q: Sir in terms of Employment Relations Promulgation, how beneficial has it been to both the workers and employers since coming into effect last year?

A: I just give you one example of its positive effect, the Mediation Service Unit that was launched last month has resolved about 84 percent of disputes and grievances while 16 percent only goes out to the employment tribunal. Now just to give you the comparison, Singapore mediation centre settlement rate is 75 percent and likewise other countries are about 80 percent so basically within the initial 4 months we have been hitting more than the target of 80 percent. So lot of countries have 60 to 70 percent settlement rate. Now the Mediation Service is very important because when we solve grievances quickly productivity goes up, when grievances are prolonged, productivity goes down. That is the equation between mediation, settling grievances and productivity. So it is a productivity booster and that is the one example. The other examples are the minimum standards under the ERP that workers are enjoying now, it never existed before it is quite numerous and that in itself if is an advantage which is already activated on the ground and people are already enjoying that.
Now non-unionised members can also have access to the mediation service unlike in the past. For the first time 7o percent of the employment members who were not unionised they can now come to the mediation services. But first we tell them to exhaust their agreement procedure. Now what the Employment Relation Promulgation delivers is both from the social side and economic side. Directly impact both the social and economic side and boost both and also it creates labour market like labour management consultation committee for participation and training and up skilling for the participation for productivity improvement and good faith. The law similar to OHS is actually involved both management to work together. So on the long run and even now it will improve employment relationship and productivity.

Q: What would be the purpose of the new National Employment Bureau?

A: We are proposing for the National Employment Bureau to be established in the Ministry of Labour and basically we will be liaising with countries that are actually friendly to Fiji. We thinking to look at Taiwan and other foreign countries and there are requests from these countries but is has also been fragmented in the way the Government has been moving so other countries when they talk about initiatives and discussions on job opportunities they should go one stop shop. So the first session is with the ambassadors, they give cc to all the job creations and the foreign affairs do not get a single coordinated response to be able to negotiate. Now with one stop shop the embassies can go liase directly not going around. Now the Ambassadors going to be happy, as they know only one stop shop come over here and after quick negotiation, bilateral for example. Now the Guam Multimillion dollar project is going, and we don’t have the national structure to be able to facilitate the employment. Government wants a very effective delivery mechanism on national level, and we are working towards achieving that.

Q: Sir are there any plans in terms of training and empowering of workers in Fiji?

A: Well that is very important as you see today that has been adapted as one of the core copies of the National Employment Bureau. Now this Bureau will be working very closely with Ministry of Labour because TPAF, the Training Productivity Authority of Fiji is under the Ministry of Labour, that is the tactical reason why we have to act together. TPAF is under us and than training and skilling program with TPAF is very clear now. So now the training plans will be integrated. Before it was all over the place. So the ERAB has agreed today for the Ministers and Cabinet constituents for the first phase of the establishment of the National Employment Bureau secretariat to be established by 31st August and the hiring of two agencies outside Government bureaucracy by first quarter next year. That would be included in the budget for next year. So it is quite fast. So we have to work extra hard for this one.

Q: I understand the Ministry of Labour has a new productivity unit and what is the benefit of setting up this unit?

A: The unit has already been set up from start of this year, and has an Acting director. But currently we have 2 members in the unit and I have talked to Public Service Commission (PSC) and they have approved some posts and we already have volunteers with us and we want to absorb them. So we are thankful for the Cabinet for approving the national scheme, which, will be taking some people in, and they are part of the national scheme. So we will be recruiting some USP graduates soon.

The purpose of the productivity unit here is that before the Training and Productivity Authority of Fiji has been a developing policy and also implementing policy. This is not good for good governance as for good governance you have to separate policy, design and policy implementation so that there can be balance. Over the years TPAF has been both policy formulator and also policy implementer of productivity issues. Now we separate the policy development now should be with the central government Ministry because they monitor how effective TPAF implement the productivity policy. So now we have shifted the policy from TPAF, it’s with the Ministry so that we can have an independent oversight to check how effective they are in implementing the productivity policy and advise on areas of national productivity and directions that Government wants.

Q: Sir in terms of dealing with Child Labour issues in Fiji, do you think there is a need to review the laws and policies on this? Has the Ministry carried out any studies on the prevalence of child labour in the country?

A: Child Labour issue is a priority area for the Ministry and thus we are working closely with International Labour Organisation (ILO). There is one special ILO/EU project basically to research the extent of child labour in Fiji and also to check the policy and laws whether they are adequate to address the contemporary problems in Fiji. The ERAB is part of where this paper has been tabled and endorsement and we fully support research on child labour. So the essence of child labour is basically to alleviate poverty in families through education of children. They should not be working when in fact their age is for education and learning. Alleviating poverty through education is the thrust. Go away from child labour to school basically that is our thrust and to ensure the policy and law are there to address this. The child labour law is already integrated in Employment Relations Promulgation (ERP). We are looking at the law and Education Act and the Social Welfare because there are some multi-faced problems. So a consultant has been hired by the law to look at the policy and practise and the findings of which would be tabled to the Board for discussions and endorsement and than later to Cabinet.

Q: What is the progress made on the New Wages Council?

A: Well ERAB is having discussions on the New Wages Council for which Father Kevin Barr will be presenting the paper. The Prime Minister has made a decision for the new wages regulations, nine of them to be activated from the first of July. So discussion here is to have an update on that by Father Kevin Barr, the independent chairman of the Wages Council. The review of the policy on the context of global financial crisis and the economic situation.

Q: Does the Ministry of Labour have any plans to improve its services?

A: What we have done in the Ministry of Labour, we have documented our system and process to modernised it we are going towards the Certification ISO 9000. This is to make our services much more cost effective and quality in delivery. So we have finished the documentation to ISO 9000 now we doing the planning because when the auditors come to certify they need to have the document to be ok and than practice to be presented. They need to see both. So we move towards the quality management system documentation. In Fiji we have 7 organizations adapting to this system. 5 in the manufacturing and 2 in the service and we will be the 8th to have that service activated, ISO 9000 quality management system.

Q: In terms of the retiring of staff in the Ministry has it affected the services provided by the Ministry in any way?

A: We have our contingency plan to be able to counter that. And that has been included in our corporate plan 2009.