Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Fiji (Ratification: 2002)

Article 1(1) of the Convention. Protection against discrimination. Public service. Legislation. The Committee recalls that the Public Service Act of 1999 does not contain any provision linked to discrimination. In its previous comment, it noted that, following the adoption of the Public Service (Amendment) Decree, No. 36 of 2011, section 10B(2) and section 10C prohibit discrimination in all aspects of employment, based on ethnicity, colour, gender, religion, national extraction and social origin, but omitting political opinion. The Committee asked the Government to: (1) take the necessary measures to include political opinion among the prohibited grounds of discrimination listed in the Public Service (Amendment) Decree; and (2) indicate how public service employees and applicants for public service employment are protected against discrimination based on political opinion in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that Decree No. 36 of 2011 was amended by the Employment Relations (Amendment) Act, 2016, and that Parts 2A and 2B, including sections 10B and 10C of the Public Service (Amendment) Decree, have been repealed. The Amendment Act also amended the definition of “workers” to include contractual civil servants under the Employment Relations Act 2007 (ERA).

The Committee recalls that section 6(2) of the ERA prohibits discrimination on the grounds listed in the Convention, including the ground of political opinion. It also notes that Part I (interpretation), section 4, of the ERA provides that a worker is employed under contract of service, and that the concept of employer includes the Government, other Government entities or local authorities and a statutory authority. The Committee observes that the Public Service Act, 1999, as well as Decree No. 36 of 2011, cover employees in the public sector who are civil servants (career public servants) and that workers in the public sector who are employed under a contract of service are covered by the ERA. In that regard, it stresses once again that sections 10B(2) and 10C of Decree No. 36 of 2011 do not prohibit discrimination on the ground of political opinion. It recalls once again that, where legal provisions are adopted to give effect to the principle of the Convention, they should include at least all the grounds of discrimination specified in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. The Committee once again asks the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that political opinion is included among the prohibited grounds of discrimination listed in the Public Service Act 1999. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate how in the meantime public service employees and applicants to public service employment are protected against discrimination based on political opinion in practice.

Enforcement and access to justice. The Committee recalls that the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) (International Labour Conference, 100th Session, 2011) noted that section 266 of Decree No. 21 of 2011 prohibits any action, proceeding, claim or grievance “which purports to or purported to challenge or involves the Government (…) any Minister or the Public Service Commission (…) which has been brought by virtue of or under the [Employment Relations Act]”. The CAS urged the Government to ensure that government employees have access to competent judicial bodies to claim their rights and adequate remedies. Consequently, the Committee asked the Government to provide detailed information on the procedure and means of redress available to workers excluded from the scope of the ERA alleging discrimination in employment and occupation which purport to challenge or involve public authorities. The Government indicates that the Employment Relations (Amendment) Act 2016 repealed the Essential National Industries Decree 2011 (ENI) to allow civil servants and workers in statutory authorities and commercial banks to lodge their claims either through their trade unions as a trade dispute or as individual grievances. The Government adds that any worker, including civil servants, may file or lodge their employment grievance with the Mediation Services of the Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations, including for any matters pertaining to being discriminated against by their employer. According to the Government, in 2019, the Mediation Services received 22 grievances relating to discrimination, of which 13 were individual grievances reported by workers themselves and nine were reported by unions.

The Committee notes that, with regard to workers in the private sector, the ERA provides for a range of avenues of redress, such as the mediation services, the employment relations tribunal and the employment relations court. Regarding civil servants, the Public Service Regulations (L.N. 48 of 1999) provide in paragraph 28 that a chief executive must put in place, in his or her Ministry or department, appropriate procedures for employees to seek review of action that they consider adversely affects their employment. The Committee notes that section 266 of Decree No. 21 of 2011 may apply to both workers in the private and public sectors, as it prohibits any action, proceeding, claim or grievance “which purports to or purported to challenge or involves the Government (…) any Minister or the Public Service Commission”.

The Committee further notes that the National Commission on Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination (CHRAD), established in 2009 under article 45 of the Constitution, can receive and investigate complaints of discrimination and seek to resolve them through conciliation. Where complaints remain unresolved, the CHRAD can refer these to a legal process. The Committee asks the Government to: (i) take the necessary measures to ensure that workers who purport to challenge the public authorities, in case of discrimination in employment or occupation have a formal avenue of redress; (ii) provide information on the application in practice of section 266 of the ERA; and to provide information on the anti-discrimination activities of the National Commission on Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination in employment and occupation; and (iii) report any cases brought before it and their outcome.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.