Fijian Trade Unionists Joined by Pro-Democratic Groups

has appealed to Australians not to holiday in Fiji saying to do so would be supporting a military regime that is abusing human rights. (William West/AFP/Getty Images)"]

Trade union movements in Fiji have been offered support by two groups opposed to the coup-installed Fijian military government, according to ABC’s Radio Pacific Beat.

Fiji’s union delegates last week called on trade unions in Australia and New Zealand to help stop the Fijian military regime’s violation of worker’s rights and violence against union representatives.

In response, Australian Transport Workers Union [TWU] appealed to Australians not to holiday in Fiji, and also threatened to ground flights to and from Fiji.

Air Pacific, jointly operated by QANTAS and the Fijian government, placed an injunction against TWU which will be challenged in court.

Union secretary Tony Sheldon said TWU has made a clear decision to challenge the injunction from Fair Work Australia, ABC Radio reported.

“What’s particularly worrying is not being able to speak out about the corruption, the inappropriate activities, the suppression and violence in Fiji,” Mr Sheldon said before calling on the Australian community for support.

“No Australian would stand by and travel to Zimbabwe to support the Mugabe government. They should not be travelling to Fiji and supporting a dictatorship that’s suppressing basic human rights in that country, basic labour rights in that country, and basic opportunities in the order of law in that country.”

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says he doesn’t know why TWU is targeting his airline at all.

He told Pacific Beat: “Qantas owns 46 per cent of Air Pacific, doesn’t have any management control over Air Pacific. It doesn’t exercise any role into the day to day running of Air Pacific and we’ve made that clear for some time. Now we continue to operate the markets around the world by licence from the Australian government and if the Australian government doesn’t have any issues with that market, any issues with Jetstar into that market then we'll continue to operate there.”

Usaia Waqatairewa, president of the Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement, met leaders of the Coalition for Democracy in Fiji in New Zealand.

He told Pacific Beat that both groups have agreed to work together and support the Fijian unions to achieve one objective—restore democracy and human rights in Fiji.

“We have to get back to the 1997 constitution and we have to apply international pressure on Fiji so that the illegal regime that is in power has to back down and call for fresh elections,” he said. “That’s the only way to do it. And if we have to force the issue through economic sanctions and other sanctions, then we will pursue that path.”

National secretary of Fiji Trades Union Congress, Felix Anthony, has travelled to a number of countries seeking support.

He told NZ’s national TV ONE that he was beaten by Fijian soldiers. He said workers and union members are constantly threatened with physical abuse, and some have ended up in wheelchairs.

He also said the Fijian government is imposing new laws ’that basically takes away the rights of public servants to challenge any decision of government in relation to the restructure of the civil service.”

But Fiji’s Ministry of Information put out a media release saying that members of the Public Service Association are disgruntled and called on PSA general secretary Rajeshwar Singh to step down because he had no mandate to speak for them.

Mr Singh is in Australia, along with Mr Anthony and other union leaders, arguing in favour of the international union movement taking action against Fiji to protect the rights of unionists, the government said in the media release.

The ministry’s permanent secretary Sharon Smith-Johns, on radio, said Mr Singh had no right to speak for Fiji’s public servants.

She said government concern is for the civil servants.

And should industrial action go ahead in Australia, she said “it badly affects the country, it affects the children, it affects the economy, and it affects everyone’s livelihood. It serves no purpose. No-one wants strike action in Fiji.”