FHTA 2 July 2020 – The Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association (FHTA) continued with their awareness sessions this morning for its members focusing on the Employment Relations Act and the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry.
This was well-attended and conducted in conjunction with Mr. Atish Kumar who is the Director of Labour Standards Services division at the Ministry of Employment. He is the Ministry’s key contact for ERA compliance and labour issues.
This session concludes a joint exercise that began in Nadi last month following numerous requests from FHTA members for clarification of proper procedures regarding employment issues due to the decline in business.
Following Government’s recent amendment to the ERA regarding force majeure or Act of God, more sessions were planned and conducted with Mr Kumar in the Western Division last week, with the tenth and final session rounding off the series in Suva this morning.
All of these face-to-face meetings provided FHTA members with the opportunity to discuss their specific Human Relations or Industrial Relations challenges, review their Contractual Agreements & Individual Contract terms and further clarify any area of the ERA to ensure fairness, transparency and the inclusion of specific clauses that provide clarity and the protection of employee and employer rights.
FHTA CEO Ms Fantasha Lockington stated, “We are very happy with the turnout and the feedback from our members has been that they have found the sessions useful for their HR decisions during this time. We are committed to providing our members with avenues to get the right advice and continue to look for ways to make these services accessible at a subsidized rate or where possible, for free.”
FHTA plans to continue their series of awareness and training sessions for their members on relevant issues and extending these to their members along the Coral Coast and in the Northern Division.
