Page 12 - IB FEB 2018

Cover Story

Thousands joined protesting ATS workers during the Fiji Trades Union Congress Union march hrough Nadi town on 13 January. Photos: Joe Yaya
Court favours airport workers’ plight

Fiji the days they were locked out. agement the workers were within their
Union officials intervened and told man-
About 70 staff on shift on Saturday, 16
December left their stations to attend a
rights as shareholders and owners of the
three-hour shareholders meeting. When
they returned to work, the gate was locked company to have a meeting and that they
did not stage a strike.
unions management not to let anyone back in. Deed states: “The trustees may whenever
and the security had instructions from
Section 45 of the shareholders Trust
they think fit convene a special general
ATS board chair Riyaz Khaiyum and
CEO Hare Mani claimed the workers went
on strike and instructed HR manager Rich- meeting. Special general meeting shall
also be convened on the request of the
triumph to over 300 workers, including those not at cuss pertinent issues about management’s
beneficiaries.”
ard Donaldson to issue suspension letters
The urgent meeting was called to dis-
work that day and those on leave.
If they wanted their jobs back, they
to a consortium from Saudi Arabia. There
were told to sign a letter admitting their plans to sell the worker’s 49 per cent stake
action was illegal and they could be further had also been incidents of sexual harass-
reprimanded. ment against female workers, which man-
Mahesh Chand who worked at ATS for agement has failed to address, the workers
28 years in catering cried foul. claimed. And there was recurring concern
“On that particular day, I was on a day that the company had not increased wages
off. So where is the justice?” for more than a decade, and the dividend
By Joe Yaya
About ATS
A bitter row between the management of
Fiji’s Air Terminal Services (ATS) and its ➢ the company provides baggage handling, catering and engineering checks at
employees who were locked out of work Nadi International Airport
for 35 days including Christmas and New ➢ the workers have 49% ownership, the Fijian government owns the remaining
Year ended last month with the court’s 51%
sympathy towards the workers. ➢ has a total workforce of 650
The Employment Relations Tribunal ➢ 588 are members of the ATS Employees Trust (ATSET)
presided by Australian Andrew See
ordered ATS management to allow the ➢ ATSET is an affiliate of FASA (Federated Airlines Staff Association)
workers back to work and to pay them for ➢ FASA is a member of FTUC (Fiji Trades Union Congress)

12 Islands Business, February 2018