“Sixty per cent of people earning a wage (Fiji) are living below the poverty line and workers have been stripped of their human rights.” Mr Conway said
By MAIKELI SERU
The illegal Attorney-General last night accused trade unionists here of being
behind a new international campaign to hurt the country’s important
tourism industry and those depending on it for a living. The
just-launched campaign driven by Australia and New Zealand union groups
seeks to persuade visitors not to come to Fiji. Mr Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum,
speaking also as illegal Tourism Minister, said: “We are confident that our
visitors will see this propaganda for what it is – a crude attempt to
punish Fiji for its reforms, which are designed, amongst other things,
to erode the ability of a handful of elites to use their power to damage
the Fijian economy and work against the Fijian people. “This same
hegemony of four or five unionists time and time again continues to
demonstrate a disdain for ordinary Fijians by wilfully misrepresenting
the situation in Fiji. “Overall, we believe the impact of this petition
will be minimal. Our visitors – like the Fijian employees – are smart
enough to see through it.”
The new campaign has been launched by the
Australian Council of Trade Unions, New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
and the International Trade Union Confederation. The international
group’s general secretary is former Australian Council of Trade Unions
president Sharan Burrow, who campaigned against Fiji. The unionists are
orchestrating their campaign through a just-launched website http://www.destinationfiji.org.
By last night it had already been highlighted in some New Zealand news
media.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said this is another attempt, with the help of
some Fijians, to discredit Government, and hurt the livelihoods of
people of this country. Whilst local trade union comment could not
immediately be obtained, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said: “For trade union
leaders to encourage a tourism boycott – an industry that supports the
livelihoods of tens of thousands of Fijian families – is the height of
selfishness and irresponsibility. “A boycott would not only threaten the
livelihoods of those directly employed by the tourism industry and
their families, but also the livelihoods of all those who play a
supporting role in the industry: the taxi drivers, the airline and
airport employees, women and men who produce handicrafts and the list
goes on. The three union groups have joined forces with a pro-union
website Equal Times in the campaign to discourage visitors from coming
here.
In supporting the campaign, Peter Conway, Secretary of the New
Zealand Council of Trade Unions, said: “The South Pacific nation might
have beautiful clear water, sandy beaches and smiling faces, but behind
that lies an uglier side to the country. “Sixty per cent of people
earning a wage are living below the poverty line and workers have been
stripped of their human rights.” Mr Conway said the aim of the campaign
is to inform tourists so that when they decide on a holiday destination
they take into account what he called unfair processes underway in
advance of the election next year. Mr Conway said that the campaign also
calls on Foreign Affairs Ministers in Australia and New Zealand to
demand that Fiji “brings its practices into line with international
human rights standards.”
Khaiyum Platitudes and Lies
In response Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said: “Anyone who
examines the situation in Fiji closely and honestly will find that the
ground realities are different to what is being portrayed. “The
Bainimarama Government has also provided an unprecedented level of
assistance to the tourism industry, which has attracted investment,
created jobs and established many opportunities for training and
up-skilling at such places as the Fiji National University. “The
Bainimarama Government led reforms at Air Pacific has created a
remarkable turn-around from a more than $90 million annual loss, to a
$16 million profit last year. All of these reforms including
employer/employee reforms have been achieved without a single job loss.
And now, all employees are included in the airline’s first ever
profit-sharing scheme. “The draft Fijian constitution further
strengthens the rights of ordinary Fijians by including in its bill of
rights the right to a just minimum wage, the right to economic
participation, as well as a wide range of socio-economic rights. Fiji’s
previous constitutions never included such rights, nor for that does
matter do Australia’s. “Lastly but perhaps most importantly all Fijians
need to consider, that given these are the same trade unionists who have
said that they will form a political party to participate in the 2014
parliamentary elections. Is this really the sort of leaders Fiji
wants?,” he said.
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