Let’s Get It On, ATS

Tukai Lagonilakeba,  Nadi

All ATS 70 plus workers rostered for the Saturday December 16, morning shift took it upon themselves to abandon their work stations and attend to an important meeting rather than complying with their employment contract obligations from 1pm to 4pm without making the necessary arrangements for replacement casual workers within that three hours, what is this Abdullah?

It does not mean that you have a grievance as a worker and shareholder you have the right to walk out and attend your shareholders meeting when you could have left that to those that are doing afternoon shift to represent you, get your priorities in order.

That is sheer negligence on their part with the careless disrespectful attitude shown to the many international airlines that frequent our shores who are the very reason ATS is in existence.

Forget about Felix Anthony and your FASA Union President, the fact remains that if you walk off your job during your shift for three hours, it just simply means you are no longer motivated with no interest to fulfil your duty as an employee.

Felix declares the ATS employees are not on strike but have been locked out, what difference does that make after they had vacated their respective work posts for more than three  hours. It is a lot of productive time lost.

I only wish all these airlines will fly their own ground engineers and do their own catering including our very own Fiji Airways so we can see what will that make of ATS and their so called shareholders.

The rule is to protect the company’s many diverse interests with its customers at all times and to all the workers at ATS, please remember you are also a very important player of the Fiji Tourism Family.

ATS Saga

Narayan Reddy,  Lautoka

Can my government please get involved and negotiate the problems faced by ATS workers? To lock the workers out and threatening to sack them is not the way. Elections is around the corner; it paints a bad picture about our country.

I am sure the way forward is negotiations for both parties to work together.

The days for confrontation are long gone.

Strike

Amenatave Yaconisau,  Lami

While I don’t want to take away workers’ right to strike and the withdrawal of labour at the Air Terminal Services (ATS), I lament their non-cooperative stance given the ownership of the company and management by the workers.

ATS is predominantly owned by workers to cater for the ground handling services and any strike will wreak havoc at Nadi International Airport and others.

I hope the talks will be fruitful and cooperative.

Yellow Cards

Vijay Madhavan,  Suva

The proposal by the National League Board  of Fiji Football Association to recommend the three yellow cards rule to the Fiji  FA Council (FS 18/12 Page 39)  is ill conceived and will only promote indiscipline in their players.

The yellow cards are given to players for indiscipline.

As for the argument of touring teams when they have to play two games in a weekend, the coach should ensure that any player on a yellow card does not form part of that touring squad.

And if by chance a player does get a yellow card in the 1st game a good coach will have him replaced  if he wishes to use him in the next match the next day.

Gone are the days

Joan McGoon,  Nadi

Gone are the days when you can walk into the Post Office and see beautiful decorations and hear Christmas music on the week before Christmas especially for smaller outlets.

Sadder still, one can’t find Christmas cards in bulk with affordable prices anymore. A huge damper on the Christmas spirit.

Maybe we can hope for next  Christmas.

Water rights, not politics

Sunil Prasad,  Nausori

It is funny that people are finding a political angle to the Water Authority of Fiji board’s decision to find a new chief executive officer.

I and many like me have had to call the Attorney-General or Prime Minister to complain of water cuts before cartage got arranged. We should not have had to call the top two but given the laxity displayed by WAF, this is what we have had to resort to.

Stop playing politics. Access to water is our basic right and having the wrong people in the wrong place will be detrimental to our rights.

Feedback:  jyotip@fijisun.com.fj