Fighting Fire With Fire

FijiTimesOnline reports that PSC Chairman Rishi Ram has confirmed that there will be a suspension of all leave due and owing to civil servants, until further notice. You can read the full story here.

Ram says ”civil servants will not be granted any leave in case there is a build-up to the planned national strike staged by unions.”

HnC questions the wisdom of taking a hard-line approach against the civil servants. HnC believes the tough stance taken by the PSC Chairman is at best, misguided.

You see the Unions have been trying to talk with the IG for months now but the IG have simply refused to listen to them.

The Union’s frustrations have culminated in the 28 Strike Notice filed last week.

And now, in the middle of a national crisis, the interim Labour Minister, is going shopping in Dubai - well at least someone isn’t afraid to show that she’s got all her priorities all wrong - isa na kani susu tu mai Fairyland!

Its high time the Unions teach the PSC and the military IG a lesson or two about industrial relations.

Come midnight 19 July 2007, HnC shall eagerly await the call for a nationwide strike so that we can all stay home.

The Union leaders need to be firm in their reslove about this.

While many civil servants may want to distiguish their cause from ours, they must understand that our causes are so closely interrelated that disconnection of the two causes is in fact, impossible.

If we succeed, they succeed.

If they succeed in bringing this IG to its knees, we all succeed.

The Union leaders must therefore be strong for their Union members.

The Union members must in turn support their Union leaders.

They must take industrial action as a cohensive unit

If not, they will fail and Rishi Ram will know that he can trample over the rights of the workers of Fiji, without opposition.

Stay together and stay united, and come 19 July - STAY AT HOME.

The PSC cannot sack you all, that would be administrative suicide.

The PSC cannot sack only a few of you, that too would be administrative suicide.

As you prepare yourselves for a nationwide strike, remember the motto of the Public Employees Union - “Together We Stand Divided We Fall” and of the Miscellaneous Workers Union - “Forward Ever Backward Never”.

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