700 FSC workers return after breakthrough agreement

About 700 Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) workers will return to work after the corporation and the National Union of Workers (NUW) reached agreement on all outstanding issues in their Collective Agreement (CA).

The breakthrough came during a meeting in Nadi yesterday chaired by the Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations, Agni Deo Singh.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the NUW, FSC management, the deputy permanent secretary and the director of Labour Standards Services.

The parties resolved three key issues:

• roster back pay;
• the Collective Agreement; and
• rosters for the 2026 crushing season.

Following mediation by Mr Singh, both sides reached agreement on all three matters.

On roster back pay, the parties agreed that calculations for outstanding payments would be completed before a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is signed on July 9, 2026.

The remaining issues in the Collective Agreement were also resolved. The draft agreement will now be updated before both parties sign the agreement on July 28, 2026. It covers tradesmen, clerks and general employees.

The parties also agreed on work rosters for the 2026 crushing season, with the new schedules taking effect immediately.

The NUW thanked Mr Singh and his team for their prompt intervention in resolving the dispute through mediation. The union also acknowledged the cooperation of FSC management during negotiations.

Following the agreement, the NUW directed its members at the corporation's three sugar mills to report for duty under the agreed rosters from midnight last night.

The agreement ends industrial action involving about 700 FSC workers, who had sought the resolution of long-standing issues, including roster back pay and the signing of a new Collective Agreement before returning to work.