The BWI condemns the charges filed against Fijian Trade Union Congress (FTUC) Secretary General and ITUC Asia-Pacific President Felix Anthony along with 28 other trade unionists. President Anthony was arrested on May Day for an alleged breach of public order and released on 3 May. The arrest took place at a tripartite meeting with Government and employer representatives, and comes ahead of a proposed nationwide protest, following the announced lay-off of hundreds of Water Authority workers. They have been charged with unlawful assembly and released on bail but under strict conditions, where they have to abide by a curfew and report daily to the police station.
“The arrest of these trade unionists by the Fijian Government is a clear backwards step, and we wish to express our deepest solidarity to Felix Anthony and his fellow unionists in this struggle,” said BWI General Secretary Ambet Yuson. “We call on the Fijian Government to immediately drop all charges, respect workers’ fundamental rights to assembly and association, and immediately engage with the FTUC on the actual issue here – laying off workers.”
FTUC Assistant National Secretary Attar Singh said he witnessed the arrest after a meeting with the Minister for Labour and others, including a representative of the International Labour Organisation, according to Radio NZ. At the time, workers had gathered outside the Water Authority in Suva, and Singh urged them to remain calm. On 3 May the Fiji Roads Authority confirmed by that the march proposed for Saturday in Nadi, which police estimated would reach 10,000, was not to go ahead due to security concerns around the ongoing Asian Development Bank (ADB) Annual Governors’ meeting. Attending the ADB meeting is Sita Ram Saini, President of the BWI affiliate AHPWDIPHCWU, representing laid-off workers from an ADB-funded highway project in Himchal Pradesh left unpaid for months after the main contractor IL&FS collapsed.
“We are strongly dismayed both on the arrest of Felix and leaders of Fiji trade union movement and the cancellation of the planned national action on the pretext that it will pose security threats on the on-going ADB Annual Governors Meeting. It could have been a good opportunity for ADB officials, including President Takehiko Nakao, to engage in constructive dialogue with workers affected by ADB projects, particularly privatisation of public utilities,” Yuson concluded.