FTUC pushes for full union rights for Police and Prison officers

Police and prison officers should have full union rights including collective bargaining, with only strike action restricted, the Fiji Trade Union Congress told parliamentarians yesterday.

FTUC national secretary Felix Anthony said the Employment Relations Bill 2025's provision to include police and corrections officers "in certain circumstances" should be removed to grant them complete workplace rights.

"They ought to be given full rights. The only area that we all agree on, and I think the tripartite partners agreed on, is that they don't have the right to go on strike," Mr Anthony told the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs.

"At the end of the day, they ought to also be recognised as workers and they are there to also earn a living for their families."

The bill currently excludes police and corrections officers from collective bargaining and requires them to report grievances individually rather than through unions or associations.

Mr Anthony argued this contradicts International Labour Organisation conventions that Fiji must comply with as a member nation.

"They deserve fair working conditions. They deserve the right to belong to unions. They deserve the right to collective bargaining. These are fundamental rights that we're talking about," he said.

"They should have the right to pursue any grievances that they have through the normal lawful channels, which is in the bill."

Opposition MP and committee Vice Chairperson Premila Kumar noted that although police and corrections fall under essential services and cannot strike, the congress wanted them to have all other workplace rights.

The bill is a product of 15 years of tripartite negotiations between unions, employers and government to bring Fiji's labour laws into compliance with ILO core conventions.

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