Observación (CEACR) - Adopción: 2025, Publicación: 114ª reunión CIT (2026)

Fiji

Convenio sobre igualdad de remuneración, 1951 (núm. 100) (Ratificación : 2002)
Convenio sobre la discriminación (empleo y ocupación), 1958 (núm. 111) (Ratificación : 2002)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of ratified Conventions on equality, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 100 (equal remuneration) and 111 (discrimination in employment and occupation) together.

Articles 1, 2 and 3(b) of Convention No. 111. Articles 1 and 2 of Convention No. 100. Anti-discrimination legislation. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest that the Employment Relations (Amendment) Bill 2025 (Bill No. 27 of 2025) includes changes to the Employment Relations Act 2007 (ERA), which, if adopted, would respond to some of the Committee’s previous comments under the equality Conventions, in particular regarding the protection against sexual harassment and the legal recognition of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on progress made in amending the ERA.Regarding the protection against sexual harassment, the Committee refers to its comments under the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190).

Articles 1 to 3 of Convention No. 111. National policy for equality of opportunity and treatment. Gender equality. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report regarding the National Action Plan (NAP) to Prevent Violence against Women and Girls for 2023–28, and the activities of the National Employment Centre to decrease the gender gap in employment. The Committee also notes from the report on the national-level review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 1995 (Beijing+30 national report) that a national assessment was undertaken in 2023 to ascertain the gender issues that existed in the country, leading to the adoption of the above-mentioned NAP and of the Women’s Economic Empowerment National Action Plan (2024–2029). In that report, the Government also acknowledges the persistent challenges that hinder progress towards gender equality, including the prevalence of gender-based violence, the non-recognition of unpaid care work, the high concentration of women in the informal economy and the predominant patriarchal culture which perpetuates unequal power relations between men and women, both in private and public spheres. These concerns are also raised by the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in its 2025 concluding observations (CEDAW/C/FJI/CO/6, 10 July 2025). The Committee considers that the Government’s acknowledgement of the challenges and its engagement to adopt measures to address them is a positive step towards progress. The Committee requests the Government to continue to adopt measures to address the challenges identified above with a view to achieving better equality for women in all aspects of employment and occupation, including measures to address educational and occupational gender segregation and to promote a more balanced gender distribution of unpaid care work. It requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures adopted in this regard and their impact. It also refers to its comments under Convention No. 190 regarding the need to combat gender-based violence in the world of work.

Enforcement. Further to its previous request, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the mediation and redress mechanisms available in case of discrimination in employment and occupation, and on the activities of the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission in that field. It also notes that section 266 of the ERA has been repealed.

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