Sugar workers have voted to strike amidst threats and intimidation by authorities.
Please click on the link below to retrieve the statement made by the FSGWU General Secretary, Felix Anthony.
The ITUC has denounced threats made against Fiji’s sugar workers who have voted for a strike. ITUC has addressed a letter to the FSGWU affirming their support for the Union’s decision and implored the government to address the concerns of the workers.
http://www.ituc-csi.org/ituc-denounces-threats-and
The International Union of Food Workers has also published an article on the strike mandate on their website. The link follows:
IUF Report:
“Your cause is surely just, and the support shown in the ballot you
have conducted, despite the unacceptable and undemocratic
intimidation by management and the military, clearly demonstrates
that your members are behind you”. – Frances O’Grady, TUC’s General Secretary.
TUC’s Affirms Its Support for Fiji Sugar Workers’ Decision to Strike :
The Maritime Union of Australia and the International Transport Workers Federation have stated their support in a letter addressed to the FSGWU. They have condemned the unacceptable intimidation of workers who were involved in fully legal and democratic process of ballot voting.
MUA Supports FSGWU Decision :
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has condemned the actions of the FSC in its refusal to enter into any negotiations with the FSGWU in its letter below. Workers are demanding the FSC Management increase their wages which have declined by more than 40 percent over the last seven years.
ACTU Passes Executive Resolution on Solidarity with FSGWU :
ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow in an interview has confirmed global union movements’ support for FSGWU strike.
ITUC General-Secretary Sharan Burrow’s Interview on Radio Australia : http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/pacific-beat/international-unions-could-target-fiji-sugar-customers/1168732
TUC’s Owen Tudor says in his article “Fiji’s seven year old military dictatorship has not just abrogated democracy and freedom of speech. It has not just beaten and jailed its opponents. It has also driven ordinary Fijian workers into poverty and taken away their rights to freedom of association and to free collective bargaining, as required under ILO core conventions.”
Fiji Sugar Workers Fight for their Rights (Article by Owen Tudor : TUC) : http://www2.amnesty.org.uk/blogs/30-years-amnesty-trade-union-solidarity/fiji-sugar-workers-fight-their-rights
NZCTU also sent a message of solidarity to the FSGWU. General Secretary, Peter Conway said the Union’s fight for pay was justified. The NZCTU supports the call for an ILO Commission of Inquiry into Fiji.
The latest to show support for FSGWU is GMB and Silvertown Sugar Workers Branch in the UK. Members of the branch are employees of Tate & Lyle’s factory that process sugar form Fiji. The Branch was also saddened to hear about the passing of Samuela Sigatokacake at the Lautoka FSC Mill.
