Statement by Frank Bainimarama at Midnight Hour when most of Fiji was already fast asleep

WHO BROUGHT THE VIRUS INTO FIJI ON 10 APRIL 2021?

Bula Vinaka and good evening to you all.

My fellow Fijians, I come to you tonight to speak to you about Government’s plans to allow us to resume as much normal activity as possible while we work together to put an end to this pandemic in Fiji. I say work together because defeating this pandemic is a job for every Fijian. It is a national effort, and we all have to do our part. We simply must be able to contain this virus without shutting down large parts of the country again. We have accumulated a lot of knowledge about how this virus is spreading in our country and are going to put that knowledge to work not just to stop it in its tracks but also to recommence economic activity.

I am speaking to you this evening from my home because all members of Parliament who were physically present in last week’s sitting were asked to home isolate for 4 days when an administrative staff member of Parliament was identified as the primary contact of a positive COVID case. As you can see, this virus can affect anyone, almost anywhere.

After observing the patterns of infection in the country, which are now primarily centred in the Suva-Lami-Nausori corridor, we have developed specific responses that are targeted to the conditions there and in other parts of the country. We know that we need to defeat the virus and keep the country moving and working as much as possible. That requires a targeted surgical approach.

First, I want to tell you that after having no cases in the Nadi area for 17 days and 20 days in Lautoka, we since yesterday recorded 2 cases in Nadi. That is not the best of news. But the good news is that we have excellent knowledge of the movements of these 2 persons and we will be able to establish a small locked down area Koroviri Settlement near Nawaka village, where these cases are resident and stop the virus there.

From now the establishment of specific locked areas and teams made up of Ministry of Health and Medical services, RFMF and Fiji Police sweeping across suburbs and localities in high risk zones screening and swabbing will be a major part of the targeted surgical approach.

As I have stated earlier we continuously are carrying out appraisals based on health and socio-economic imperatives. While these appraisals and assessments are not always carried out in the public domain as it can lead to public panic and consternation, we are able to make firm and decisive decisions.

It is in this respect I wish to make some further key announcements.

From tomorrow morning at 4am, the Lomolomo border separating Nadi and Lautoka will be removed. This will create one large Nadi-Lautoka containment zone in which people will be able to travel freely to go to work or resume business. Businesses will be able to open as long as they adopt the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport guidelines. High-risk businesses such as gyms, bars and grog shops will remain closed until further notice.

And then next Saturday the borders at the Momi junction on the Sigatoka end of Nadi and at Nacilau, on the Ba end of Lautoka will also be removed.

The curfew hours for the Nadi-Lautoka containment zone and Viti Levu apart from Lami-Suva-Nausori will be from 8pm to 4am beginning tomorrow.

In the next 7 days the Ministry of Health will carry out large screening and swabbing exercises within the one Nadi-Lautoka containment zone. Furthermore, from Monday, in 2 days time the Ministry of Health and Medical Services will roll out a large vaccination roll out in the Nadi-Lautoka zone.

I firstly wish to thank all those who live in the Nadi-Lautoka zone and those who live outside this zone but have been impacted by the containment for their perseverance and patience. I know it has not been easy. I also know that many of you understand the necessity of what needed to be done.

I ask one thing one of you. I also ask the rest of all Fijians in Viti Levu and all over Fiji. Please adhere to the COVID safe measures. Register to get vaccinated and get yourself and your family vaccinated. It is critical that you do. If you don’t we won’t be able to reopen the economy, get you back to your work, businesses and resume normal life.’

Beginning tomorrow we will also ease restrictions in the northern division and maritime areas, where we have no recorded cases of the virus. All businesses including what is deemed to be high risk businesses such as hair dressing salons, gyms and billiard rooms will also be allowed to operate. Fijians who wish to travel from Vanua Levu and the maritime areas can now return to Viti Levu by sea or air. If you wish to do so please call 163 to register with the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport.

I appeal also to all Fijians in Vanua Levu and the maritime areas. Please value your COVID free status. Please also adhere to the COVID safe measures. Don’t take your status for granted. All those in the high risk businesses, you will be given specific guidelines through the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport as to how you should operate. If you don’t adhere to them you will not be allowed to operate.

Travel will also be allowed from Viti Levu and containment zones to outside Viti Levu or non-containment zones but subject to various protocols being met. Ministry of Health is currently working on these protocols and will announce the details within the next four days.

The Lami-Suva-Nausori containment zone presents a different situation, but there are still many things we can do to ease the daily burden on the residents of that area. First, beginning tomorrow at 4am we will eliminate the borders between Suva and Nausori and Lami. This means that the containment zone will now be bordered at Wainadoi at one end and Logani at the other, while all other perimeters will remain the same. So we will now have one big Lami-Nausori containment zone. Within this zone, we will still however maintain the existing locked down areas-areas where we know there are known infections. This large containment zone will allow people to go to work and open up businesses but subject to the strict guidelines established by Ministry of Health and Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport.

We know that the Lami-Nausori corridor has the highest number of active cases and we have seen that due to the neglect of COVID safe measures there has been an exponential rise in cases.

Therefore, movement in this zone must be for specific purposes. Only essential businesses and businesses that meet Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport guidelines will be allowed to open, and business owners and managers will be accountable for ensuring that employees, customers and visitors follow COVID-safe practices.

Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport will announce a list of businesses that can resume work, including businesses that employ large numbers of people, businesses with strict overseas orders that must be filled, businesses that support socio-economic development and some small businesses that support the most disadvantaged people in the country. We have cut through the bureaucracy of securing approvals and get businesses that can operate within the ambit of our health restrictions open as soon and safely as possible.
We will continue with our consultations with various commerce and business organisations on specifics regarding some industries. I want to stress that in the Lami-Nausori zone high-risk businesses will remain closed. We still encourage the public to stay at home if they do not need to be out for medical reasons, permitted work or essential shopping.

The new Lami-Nausori containment zone will remain under a 6pm until 4am curfew.

My fellow Fijians, funerals and the gatherings surrounding funerals have been a major source of the spread of this virus, and we simply must adjust our ways temporarily in this emergency. We Fijians take the passing of a loved one very seriously. We show our love and respect, and we stay with them until we bury them or scatter their ashes in the sea. However, I have to ask this of you as we have no choice - masking will remain mandatory and people must observe proper social distancing during funerals and functions relating to the passing away of our loved ones. The ten-person rule applies before, during, and after the funeral. Please, limit your reguregu or other religious and cultural practices, rituals and prayers before, during and after the passing away of your loved ones to ten people –– no more. We will from tomorrow strictly enforce these measures through the disciplined forces. You of course can consider holding a more fuller memorial service for your loved one once we can gather safely in large groups.

These are our first steps toward reopening the economy and resuming normal life. If everyone strictly does their part to prevent the spread by observing these restrictions, we will be able to continue to relax the restrictions as our cases diminish. So that is what I am asking of all of you. Be responsible. Take this very seriously. Follow the COVID-safe guidelines that will keep you and your neighbours safe.

Most importantly, we are accelerating our vaccination effort as much as we can. The Ministry of Health will have the ability to administer 260,000 first doses of vaccines by tomorrow because more vaccines have arrived in the country—and vaccines will continue to arrive with little delay. Once a significant percentage of the population is vaccinated, we will be able to loosen restrictions quickly, as you have seen happen in other parts of the world. Fiji is not far behind.

Second, as mentioned we are stepping up our screening and testing, which is already being conducted at an impressive pace by a very dedicated team. I want to point out that contact tracing and testing have been our most effective weapons so far against this virus. Until we can vaccinate ourselves against it, our only defence is to find it and isolate it.

Third, as we have already stated we have spent directly 200 million dollars in unemployment benefits, cash benefits and micro, small and medium assistance since last year April.

You may recall that last year some had said we needed to give more than what we did but they did not look beyond the first few months. Our argument has been that we like all other governments in the world did not know how long this pandemic would stay around for and affect our economies and livelihoods. We always need to look beyond our noses. We need sustainability. As a result of our prudent management of our finances, we have the capacity to continue to provide those benefits and expand it to those who now need further assistance.

I announce tonight that through the Ministry of Economy, we will extend the Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the FNPF benefits which commenced last year June for another month or equivalent to 2 fortnight payments. This will cost Government directly approximately 21 million dollars. FNPF will release 6 million dollars. A total of 27 million dollars.

Those who qualified for the one-off 220-dollar payment because they were in a lock down area will now be able to access two additional payments of 220 dollars in other words 440 dollars from their FNPF accounts. Government will top-up the balance for those with insufficient funds. We expect there will also be some new applicants in this category. This will cost Government directly approximately 4 million dollars. FNPF will release approximately 9 million dollars. A total of 13 million dollars.

The above collaboration in these schemes between FNPF and Government will benefit over 60,000 Fijians.

Those in the informal sector and who do not qualify under any other assistance scheme and are not employed will be able to receive a payment of fifty dollars. Under the previous payment scheme through the money wallets of MPAISA and MYCASH, it was only restricted to households in the containment zones but under this new scheme, all individuals 18 and above in Viti Levu will qualify. Further information on this scheme will be detailed by Tuesday. We expect that this initiative will cost Government directly 10 million dollars targeting about 200,000 Fijians.

Fourth, we will present legislation to change enforcement of COVID emergency as soon as Parliament sits. The legislation will allow for on-the-spot payment of fines for not wearing masks and businesses not adhering to COVID safe measures. It will seek to make businesses equally accountable for non-compliance by employees and customers. For example, business owners who allow patrons into their establishment without masks would be penalized as well as the patron. After more than three violations, businesses may be shut down.

My fellow Fijians, we were COVID-contained for more than one year. We had reason to be proud of what we had accomplished while other countries suffered under an enormous strain. A few acts of carelessness and inattention, as we have seen happen in all countries, brought this virus down on us again, but we were prepared. Our health professionals and other public personnel have worked tirelessly, as they did a year ago, to contain this virus and get us back to normal.

We are making progress again. But the rest is up to all of us—not just the Ministry of Health. Not just the RFMF and the Police. We need individuals, families, communities, we need businesses, businesswomen and men to participate in making these measures work. We as Government have also learnt that the private sector must be made to participate in spaces that currently is seen only as the domain of the public sector.

I hope that you now understand that your direct lack of compliance, or your family members’ or people in your street, your community, your village, or your work place, will mean that you may eventually lose your job, may not have a source of income, may not be able to operate your business – big or small.

We are all in this together. We all must not tolerate or turn a blind eye to non-compliance with the COVID measures. Our negligence or tolerance will be to our own detriment. We must be firm. We must not compromise. We must be vigilant.

My fellow Fijians we need to do two things: get vaccinated and practise COVID-safe behavior, including having your careFIJI app and Bluetooth turned on at all times. We know what keeps us safe, so let’s do it. Together, we can get our Fiji back and once again live the lives we love.

The Fiji Trades Union Congress supports the statement from the Fiji CSO Alliance for Covid 19 Humanitarian Response calling on the Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum to resign immediately. It has become evident that this Minister has totally failed in his responsibility to manage the current crisis, and to ensure the well- being of all citizens. People are in dire need for immediate assistance to survive and we see this Minister being totally absent from the scene, failing to tell the people what his plans are to deal with the pandemic and to assist people. A $90 one-off assistance to some and a grand announcement for workers to use their FNPF is not sufficient by any standards.

The FTUC had in its last media release demanded that the Government develop a plan to deal with this pandemic including assistance to workers and their families and to make it known to the people. Clearly there was no plan and this Government has been caught with its “pants down”. Grandstanding in Parliament after 5 weeks of lockdown and demonstrating such arrogance and careless attitude is not what people of Fiji need right now. His priorities in Parliament were clearly misplaced. If his lack of knowledge of the state of our roads is anything to go by, then we cannot expect him to know the dire situation our people are facing. He is simply out of touch with the reality on the ground. Repeated calls from CSOs, political parties and individuals have fallen on deaf ears. He simply knows it all and brushes them off as politics. His continued refusal to collaborate, consult and dialogue with stakeholders to address the rising food poverty and job issue of our people shows his absolute lack of knowledge on crisis management ,and even humanity.


We acknowledge the work and contribution of many good citizens to assist our people. It is sad that even the charitable work that is being done by individuals and CSOs are not being appreciated by this Government. In fact Government in many instances is attempting to take credit for the work done by these organizations and individuals.

Workers and their families are out of work for now more than 5 weeks without pay in most cases. These are workers who earn at the very bottom of the wage scale and mostly at the meager level of our national minimum wage which is well below the poverty line and much closer to extreme poverty. Families cannot afford decent food and have difficulty putting one meal a day on the table. Many have even lost their jobs. Some have even resorted to borrowing or stealing. Yet this Minister simply thinks it is all politics. His other Ministers are just as useless and are only good for sitting in Parliament and cheering the “minister for everything” on. It is apparent that the more these Ministers cheer him on, the more secure their jobs are.

It is time this Government gets its act together or ship out. We remind Aiyaz Khaiyum that it is all about the people and that he has failed miserably. The honorable thing for this Minister to do is resign immediately. The people deserve better.

Felix Anthony
National Secretary

​Queenie is her name — and yes, that’s her real name. And as catchy and unusual as it is, her name is not the only thing that distinguishes this wife from other spouses in the D.C. diplomatic corps. Queenie Thompson, wife of Fiji Ambassador Winston Thompson, is a colorful, nonstop storyteller who loves to regale others with the unique history and legendary traditions of her homeland — a group of volcanic islands in the South Pacific lying about 1,100 miles north of New Zealand.

“I am named after my father’s sister, Queenie, who helped my father deliver me amidst bombs and gunfire during the Japanese occupation of the Gilbert Islands during World War II, only a few days after her own birthday in October 1942,” Queenie explained. “I was born on a small atoll called Butaritari, which was part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, now called Kiribati. We were evacuated to Fiji after the liberation by the U.S. Marines during what I am told was a real bloodbath. We never went back.

​“Both my grandfathers were German and one of my grandmothers was Marshallese and Portuguese,” she continued. “My one grandfather had a huge walrus moustache. He had left home at 17 because his family wanted him to be a doctor, but he couldn’t stand the sight of blood so he got on a ship and, months later, landed in the Marshall Islands,” she recalled, noting that her youngest granddaughter is named Winta Queenie, in honor of her father Winston and herself.

Just talking about her own name led Queenie to the story of Mary Davis Wallis, the pious and eccentric wife of the daring Yankee sailing captain Benjamin Wallis who accompanied her husband on his Fiji route from 1844 to 1849. Writing about her experiences in her 1851 book, “Life in Feejee, or, Five Years Among the Cannibals,” she detailed native life, including gory descriptions of cannibalism.

“She became so famous at home that people started naming their daughters after her, only we spell it as one word, ‘Merewalisi.’ I often meet girls today who have that name but no idea why,” said Queenie, who delights in filling them in on their namesake.

I was ready to leave the uncomfortable topic of cannibalism when Queenie launched into the famed demise of Rev. Thomas Baker, an English Christian missionary who met a terrible fate with tribespeople in 1867.

“They ate all of Rev. Baker except for his tough boots,” she said, matter-of-factly. “In those days in the 1700s and 1800s, the village chiefs would kill for power, thinking that they would gain that person’s power themselves,” she explained. And that was the risk well-meaning missionaries and nervy ship captains took when they sailed to find a passage to India and went ashore on these picturesque islands. “Once Christianity came in the mid-19th century, that period was over and there were laws against cannibalism,” Queenie said. “Of course, that’s a long time ago.”

Back in November 2003, Baker’s descendants in England were invited by the current chief to visit that very same village for an official apology. The then Fijian Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase joined the tribal ceremony that the chief and his people desperately hoped would break a chain of bad luck the village has suffered ever since that fateful day in July 1867 when, as the story goes, “they ate everything but his boots.” In fact, you can still see the remnants of one of those leather boots in a Fiji museum.

Queenie has her own native display of sorts at her official residence in a manicured cul-de-sac in Vienna, Va. — which she calls her “Fiji Room.” On one side are gorgeous coffee table books of the island’s natural beauty and its new Pure Fiji Spa, which offers banana leaf wraps and warm seashell massages featuring Fiji honey, coconut, papaya and passionflowers. And then smack-dab on another side of the room are huge reproductions of the handmade utensils made for flesh eating. It may be a queasier aspect of Fiji’s history, but it’s not one that Queenie shies away from.

In comparison to his wife’s easy and warm storytelling abilities on any topic, Ambassador Thompson is more reserved — perhaps fitting given his background as the former head of Telecom Fiji Ltd. and a secretary in many different cabinet positions. Ever the diplomat, Thompson also preferred not to discuss Fiji’s history of military coups — including a widely condemned coup d’état staged by Cmdr. Frank Bainimarama, head of the Fiji Military Forces, in December 2006 that has put the island nation at odds with some of its bigger neighbors, including Australia and New Zealand.

Both countries have urged Bainimarama — who has instituted a series of repressive measures since coming to power — to return to civilian rule as soon as possible, but he has said elections will not be held before 2014.
In the meantime, Thompson says Prime Minister Bainimarama is pressing ahead with a five-year “People’s Charter” to equally integrate all ethnic groups as an answer to civil unrest, along with efforts to increase tourism despite Fiji’s remote location and help it recover from a devastating January 2009 flood. Bainimarama is also pushing the nation of 850,000 to embrace emerging markets such as information and communications technology and the film industry.

Having gained its independence in 1970, after nearly a century of British rule, Fiji became a republic in 1987 and is still a member of the British Commonwealth.

​According to the ambassador, it is these vestiges of British heritage that have always made military service a natural option for Fijians who wanted to serve their country and see the world. In fact, per capita, more Fijian troops are involved in peacekeeping missions than any other country in the world. “Military service is part of our tradition as a former British colony who was involved in World War I and II … and as a member of the Commonwealth who defended the Malay Peninsula, also a British Colony, from the Communists in 1952,” he said.

Fiji though could have belonged to the Americans if not for a strange quirk in history, according to the ambassador.

“Fiji owed America a lot of money after one Fourth of July in 1854, when the fireworks started a fire that burned down the thatched buildings that had served as the American Consulate,” he said. “Our people helped move out all the furniture and office equipment from the consulate but instead of placing everything a safe distance away, they loaded everything into their outrigger canoes and sailed off into the night. Chief [Seru Epenisa] Cakobau was accused of owing the U.S. government 45, 000 British pounds. The Fiji government offered the islands in trade for the debt but the Americans turned them down!” Years later, Britain settled into the new colony, paying the United States for the privilege.

Today, many British and Americans alike take up the privilege of visiting this scenic country, more often associated with stunning beauty than political strife. “Fiji’s pristine nature, distinct culture, rich history and archaeological importance will always bring people to these beautiful islands and make them wonder just how these mostly volcanic rocks became inhabited,” Thompson said.

Locally, Fiji was featured in this summer’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall, although Queenie wishes that people knew more about her country, beyond the fact that it’s a source for Fiji Water! (“Yes, it does come from Fiji,” she promises.)

“Too often they confuse Fiji with Mount Fuji,” she said. “Several times I’ve gotten Christmas cards in late January that were supposed to be delivered before Christmas because they got routed to Mount Fuji instead!

“Most Americans know at least where Fiji is…. That’s delightful because I can see interest awaken in their eyes,” she added, noting that she often refers curious friends to the embassy’s website. “We are small in size, but big in heart and aspirations for growth.”

“I couldn’t do it without her,” the ambassador said of his wife’s support in Washington. “These sorts of jobs are incomplete without a spouse … helping to maintain the home environment while reaching into the community where you wouldn’t have otherwise made contacts are irreplaceable assets.”

Queenie’s philosophy about living abroad is a complement to her open, good-natured spirit. “I try to live in the present, just where I am at that moment. Winston’s posting to Washington is awfully special as this gives us the opportunity to keep Fiji visible. Living here is like a huge learning curve in my university of life … with diplomatic life being another lesson, an experience to embrace with all its complications and diversity.”

She loves Washington with all its vistas and thick tree cover, and especially enjoys visiting its monuments, museums, art galleries and historic homes. “The city is absolutely stunning in its architecture and physical layout,” Queenie said, noting that in her spare time she loves gardening, practicing tai chi, playing Mahjong, reading and volunteering.

“One of our favorite projects here, including the ambassador and his staff, is the Embassy Adoption Program of the D.C. Public Schools in partnership with Washington Performing Arts Society,” she explained. “Working together with sixth-graders has been invaluable; we learn the student perspective. How better to sustain global peace and understanding than together with our children of the world? I am excited that we will engage with a new school this fall but at the same time we will treasure our memories of Jefferson Middle School.”

Back in Fiji while her husband tends to business, Queenie will meet with several volunteer groups to plan upcoming events and community endeavors, including a project that borrows from the television campaign “It’s 10 p.m. Do You Know Where Your Children Are?”

“We do it nightly, year-round, because with increased tourism there will be more nightlife and more problems with our children,” Queenie said, crediting American volunteerism with inspiring her.

Queenie’s own devotion to children stems from her ever-growing family. Today, the couple’s two daughters, two sons and six grandchildren live all over the world.

Two days after our interview, Queenie and her husband — who on New Year’s Day 2011 will celebrate their 48th wedding anniversary — took off on an Air Pacific non-stop flight from Los Angeles for a two-week visit to Fiji, loaded with presents for their extended brood.

From the Nadi International Airport on Fiji’s largest island, Viti Levu, where the capital of Suva is located, they drive three and a half more hours before they finally arrive at their home, after 28 hours of travel.

But they return to an empty nest in Fiji, just as they do here. Daughter Amanda, 48, is a librarian in Auckland, New Zealand; she and her husband, an engineer, have a 15-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl. Queenie’s younger daughter Lisa and her husband, an Irish-Hungarian-Native American, live near Peekskill, N.Y. Son David, 46, is an IT consultant and married to Fanny, a Pepsi IT projects manager, who is from the Dominican Republic; they have four daughters, ages 19 to 8. Incidentally, Queenie’s youngest son, Robert Thompson, 32, is regional director of Tahiti Tourisme because, according to his mother, “after his internship with the Fiji Visitors Bureau didn’t lead to full-time employment, Tahiti snapped him up!” His partner Michael is a chef whose family lives in Abu Dubai.

“Skype and the Internet are my umbilical cords,” Queenie said. “We even read bedtime stories to our youngest granddaughter by Skype. We get two copies of each book, one for us and one for her.”

Time with family is paramount, especially “making memories” by traveling together on a train. “As each grandchild reaches their teens, we research together a special train trip for them to take with Papa and Paima, their nicknames for us,” Queenie explained. “We traveled on the Tranz Rail in New Zealand, the Ghan in Australia, European trains while we were living in Geneva, the Bullet Train in Japan, and after living in Dobbs Ferry, New York, we took Amtrak across America.”

While her husband collects sculptures and carvings of turtles wherever they go, Queenie loves to add to her teapot collection (she already has 100 full-size teapots, depicting everything from thatched cottages to a couple dancing across a ballroom floor), as well as to her collection of thimbles (“Yes, I still sew!”) and little bells. (“I adore their happy sound.”)

“My granddaughters and I always have pretend tea parties and now, for those who are old enough, I’m letting them choose the teapots they would like to keep for themselves.”

As much as she misses her family, Queenie does everything she can to “fully commit to all these new experiences abroad. I’m so grateful to have my Fiji life and my Washington life, a New York life, a Sydney life and an Auckland life. These experiences are all about my evolution,” she said. “I love change.”

About the Author
Gail Scott is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat and lifestyle columnist for the Diplomatic Pouch.

Goundar Shipping  Services v Ieli [2021] FJHC 214; ERCA 06 of 2017 (1 April 2021)

N THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COURT
AT SUVA
APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CASE NUMBER: ERCA 06 of 2017

BETWEEN:  GOUNDAR SHIPPING  SERVICES
APPELLANT

AND: PILI IELI
RESPONDENT

Appearances: Ms. Kinivuai for the Appellant.
Ms. L. Mataigusu for the Respondent.
Date/Place of Judgment: Thursday 1 April 2021 at Suva.
Coram: Hon. Madam Justice Anjala Wati.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
JUDGMENT

1. Catchwords:

Employment Law – whether worker terminated from work or did he fail to report to work as required by the employer – if the worker was terminated, was the same lawful and fair?
___________________________

Cause

1. The employer appeals against the decision of the Employment Relations Tribunal (“ERT”) of 22 February 2017 on its findings that the employee Pili Ieli was unlawfully and unfairly dismissed for which the employer was ordered to pay a sum of 3 months wages for unlawful dismissal and 3 months wages for unfair dismissal to compensate hum for the humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to the feelings of the employee.
2. The employer is in the shipping industry providing transportation to the public from the outer islands. The employee was engaged by the employer as a second officer on board the vessel, Lomaiviti Princess 2.
3. Both parties have a conflicting position on the issue of whether the employee was terminated from work. The employee says that he was terminated from work on 13 December 2013 and the employer says that it was the employee who did not report to work after an incident on 13 December 2013.
4. There is even conflict on the turn of events culminating to the employee leaving work. In order to correctly identify each party’s version of the event, I will refer to the material evidence of all the witnesses in the ERT.

Evidence

1. The first witness for the employer was Captain Inoke. He had been working for  Goundar Shipping  Services since 2011. He said that he remembers having a conversation with Mr. Ieli on the morning of 13 December 2013. Mr. Ieli had requested him if he could get time off to attend a family function. He wanted to sign off and not go to Koro Island. He told Mr. Ieli that a replacement needed to be found for him before he can get the time off.
2. Captain Inoke said that Mr. Ieli was part of the manning crew. Since it was a Friday and it was late in the afternoon, a replacement could not be found. According to the Captain, he told the management that a reliever needed to be found for him.
3. In cross- examination he stated that he cannot confirm whether the ship was properly manned when it sailed to Koro Island because he had signed off.
4. The next witness for the employer was Mr. Rakesh Parasad. He is the Manager Finance of the employer. He said that on 13 December 2013, the vessel was to return to Koro Island and Mr. Ieli had to be part of the manning crew.
5. According to Mr. Prasad, at about 6pm, the Master of the vessel Mr. Robert Sosene asked him on the whereabouts of the 2nd Officer. It was only then when he realized that Mr. Ieli had left the ship following which he attempted to contact Mr. Ieli. He called on Mr. Ieli’s mobile which was switched off. He then referred to his file to get an alternative contact. He found his wife’s number. The wife answered the phone and he managed to talk to Mr. Ieli.
6. Mr. Prasad says that he asked Mr. Ieli why he was not on board and he replied that he was in a family function. Mr. Prasad said that he told Mr. Ieli that the vessel needed to sail and he needed to report to duty. Mr. Ieli replied that he could not as he had provided a sick sheet to the office. Mr. Prasad said that he told Mr. Ieli that the sick sheet could not be relied upon as he was in a family function and that he needed to report to duty.
7. Mr. Ieli again responded that he would not come as he was on sick sheet. Mr. Prasad said that he then sent a text message to Mr. Ieli to the effect that if he failed to report to duty within 30 minutes then his employment may be terminated. Despite that message, Mr. Ieli did not report to work. Attempts were made to locate a reliever but to no avail. The vessel had to sail without a reliever. She was delayed by 2 hours.
8. On the sick sheet, Mr. Prasad said that it was not provided to him but to one of the officers. Mr. Ieli had tendered the sick sheet and gone. The sick sheet says that he was supposed to return to work the next day but Mr. Ieli did not come back to work. He however did come to the vessel on Monday where he packed his belongings. After that he came to the office and informed that he was leaving. He was there in the office with Mr. Goundar when Mr. Ieli came. Mr. Ieli came to the office to let them know that he was leaving the office.
9. After that Mr. Ieli did not contact the office. The employer had not terminated him. It was Mr. Ieli who left on his own accord after failing to report to work. The issue was reported to The Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji. If Mr. Ieli reported to duty the next day, the employer could have taken disciplinary action against him but he was not terminated. He was not told that he would be terminated but that he may be terminated because he needed to be warned. Deserting a ship is a serious offence.
10. In cross-examination Mr. Prasad said that he had the powers of firing and hiring the crew on the vessel. He did not accept the sick sheet because when he called Mr. Ieli he said that he was in a family function and for Mr. Prasad not to disturb him.
11. He also admitted that when the vessel sailed without a 2nd officer on board, it was given clearance by one of the officers from Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji. One of the officers is always there to clear the vessel for sail. Even on this occasion the clearance was given for sail after the passengers and the cargo was checked.
12. Mr. Prasad denied that he had only given Mr. Ieli 15 minutes to report to work or that when he called Mr. Ieli, he was told that he was at work with the sick sheet. He also said that he cannot recall whether there was a ship sailing on the very next day of the incident but that the office was open. He denied that he told Mr. Ieli on the Monday he reported to work that he was terminated.
13. The employer’s 3rd witness was Ms. Maureen Lata Prasad. She said that on 13 December 2013, Mr. Ieli came to the office. It could be around midday but she is not sure of the time. He left his sick sheet on the table. She saw the sick sheet. She told him to fill in the leave form which needed to be filled and authorized by the Captain. Mr. Ieli however just walked away. She followed him but he went away. She did not see him after that day.
14. In cross-examination she said that when Mr. Ieli had handed over the sick sheet, she did not show it to the Captain but showed it to Mr. Rakesh Parasad. She had no idea what Mr. Rakesh Prasad did with the leave. She said that his sick sheet was paid after two years.
15. The worker stated in his evidence that he had been working for this employer for the past 6 months. On 13 December 2013 Mr. Robert Sosene was the second in command of the ship. The Captain was not there. The Captain is the Master. He therefore had to approach Mr. Robert Sosene. He told Mr. Robert Sosene that he needed to go and see a dentist. Mr. Sosene allowed him to go. This was about 8am.
16. He was given the approval to leave the vessel. When he visited the dentist, they did some filling of the tooth and since there was still some pain, a sick sheet was given to him. He got the sick sheet around midday which he took to the office and gave it to Maureen Prasad.
17. When he handed the sick sheet, Maureen asked him what it was. He said it was a sick sheet and she did not say anything after that so he left straight for home. At around 6 pm, Mr. Rakesh Prasad called him on his wife’s phone. He told Rakesh that he was sick and that he had handed the sick sheet around midday. Rakesh then disconnected the line. A few minutes after he called again and said that they have not found a reliever so he had to report to work. He informed Rakesh that he had a sick sheet. Mr. Ieli said that he then disconnected the line.
18. Mr. Ieli said that it was the duty of the employer to find a reliever. Rakesh sent him a text that evening that he should be on board in the next 15 minutes otherwise he will be terminated from work. He still did not report. He was on sick sheet. He had to report to work the next day but since Rakesh had sent him that message and there was no ship on the next day he did not go to work. He was to report to the ship and not the office.
19. He went back to the office on Monday. He saw Captain Inoke, Rakesh and one Tarun there. Rakesh informed him that they were discussing about his case and why he was not answering the phone on the subject day. Rakesh then said that there is nothing that they can do but to terminate his employment. After hearing this from Rakesh, he went to the ship and collected his belongings.
20. In cross-examination he denied that he had any discussion with Captain Inoke on 13 December 2013. He also denied that when he handed over the sick sheet to Maureen, she asked him to fill in the leave form. He denied that she followed him and that he did not flee from there. He does not know about the procedure of filling in a leave form. He does not have a contract so he does not have the obligation of finding a reliever. He said that the way Rakesh had written the text message indicated that he had been terminated.
21. He did not discuss the matter with the Director of the Ship Mr. Goundar. He does not deal with him but deals with the Operations Manager and the Masters of the ship. He insisted that the message from Mr. Rakesh was that he will be terminated if he did not report to work in 15 minutes not that he may be terminated. He clarified that on Monday, Rakesh had told him that there was nothing they could do as he was terminated from work.

ERT’s Findings

1. The ERT found that since the employee was in employment for more than 3 months, he was entitled to be on paid sick leave. The employer had wrongly refused to accept the sick sheet. The sick sheet has not been challenged. The same was issued by a registered medical practitioner certifying the worker’s incapacity to work. If the employer doubted the sick sheet then action should have been taken against the worker and the medical practitioner. When it did not, it is deemed to have accepted the same. Having accepted it, it could not behave the way it did when the worker did not turn up for work.
2. The sick sheet was supplied around midday and this constitutes reasonable notice to the employer. The employer therefore should not have been calling the worker. Instead it should have been actively involved in looking for a reliever for the worker. The evidence of Captain Inoke also suggests that he had asked the employer to look for a reliever.
3. The employer’s act of sending a text message saying that the worker may be terminated constitutes termination of the worker in the circumstances which was unjustified, unlawful and unfair. The ERT accepted that the worker could not go to work the very next day because there was no ship but when he did go to work it was confirmed that he was terminated.

The Appeal and Analysis

1. The employer raised 2 grounds of appeal. The 1st is that the ERT erred in law and in fact in finding that the worker was terminated when the same could not be established on a balance of probability and the 2nd is on the award of 3 months wages for humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to the feelings of the worker.
2. The 1st ground requires me to examine whether the ERT was correct in making a finding that the worker was terminated and not that he failed to report to work as required by the employer. I must say that since there was conflicting evidence on whether the employee was terminated or that he left work, it was for the ERT to accept one version and reject the other. It accepted the employee’s version and I find that it was open to the ERT to do so on the basis of credibility of a witness. I do not find that there is any material upon which I can impeach the finding of the ERT.
3. The employer says that the message sent to the employee was not conclusive that the employee had been terminated or will be terminated but that he may be terminated if he did not report to work in 30 minutes. If that is so, the employer should have produced the text message in court as it could have been retrieved. That evidence was not produced in the ERT for it to make an assessment or to even accept the employer’s version.
4. In any event, if the employer had not terminated the employment then when it saw Mr. Ieli collect his belongings and leave the ship, it should have taken an immediate step to clarify the position that he had not been terminated and that he was required at work. This was necessary in light of the text message that was sent by the employer. It was not difficult for the employer to work out from the conduct of Mr. Ieli that there could be a possible misunderstanding.
5. One must not forget that it is the employer’s version that Mr. Ieli reported to work on the Monday and collected his belongings. He came to the office and informed that he was leaving. He was not asked why he was leaving. Why not and why was he not told that he had not been terminated? It only makes sense that this was not done because the employer had already terminated the employee.
6. From the evidence, I too do not find Mr. Rakesh Prasad’s evidence reliable. He informed the ERT that it was only around 6pm when Captain Robert Sosene called that he realized that Mr. Ieli was missing from the vessel. On the contrary, Ms. Maureen Prasad says that she had handed the sick sheet to Mr. Rakesh Prasad and that she has no idea what he did with it. Captain Inoke also testified that he informed the office to look for a reliever.
7. The two witnesses’ evidence is clear that Mr. Rakesh knew that Mr. Ieli will not be at work and that he had to find a reliever for Mr. Ieli. It appears that Mr. Prasad did not take any immediate steps to find a reliever and when it was too late, he decided to put the blame on the worker. To save himself because of his shortfall, Rakesh conducted himself in a manner that is unacceptable and unfair.
8. Mr. Rakesh started hassling and threatening the worker which is not permissible. A sick worker is entitled to rest and not to be hassled and made to worry about his work. He need not worry about dealing with text messages threatening him of his employment future with that employer. This is grossly unjustified.
9. What also makes Mr. Rakesh Prasad’s evidence suspicious is when he told the ERT that when he called Mr. Ieli he was told by Mr. Ilei that he is in a family function and that he will not report to work as he had tendered a sick sheet. Even if Mr. Ieli was in a family function, he would not dare say that as his livelihood was important and he needed to have work for himself. Having given the sick sheet, Mr. Ieli would have simply indicated that he was sick. Why would he say that he was in a family function? I find that the issue of attending a family function is concocted by Mr. Rakesh Prasad.
10. What also concerns me is that the employer failed to call Captain Robert Sosene to give evidence. He was a very material witness in the matter since Mr. Ieli says that he had approved Mr. Ieli’s time off to see a dentist.
11. I do not endorse the employer’s views that Mr. Ieli needed to have his sick sheet approved. This may hold true for annual leave but if a worker falls sick and is not able to work, he need not have to wait for the employer to approve his leave. That would be most absurd because in that situation the employee would be expected to work until his sick leave is approved. The request then becomes redundant.
12. I also do not agree with any insinuation by the employer that it was Mr. Ieli’s duty to look for a reliever. It is for the employer to make arrangements for such situations. It is in the sailing business and such matters can always arise. Sufficient provisions ought to be made to cater for sick employees.
13. I have no reason to overturn the decision of the ERT that through the text message, the worker had accepted that he was terminated which was confirmed on the Monday by Rakesh. Although Rakesh denies this, it was for the ERT to accept which version of the evidence was more credible.
14. I also find the termination to be unfair. I accept that Mr. Ieli was terminated by the text message of Mr. Rakesh. In terminating him, he was not treated fairly as he was definitely harassed when he was sick and put to unnecessary inconvenience. This action does not show good conduct on the part of the employer in dismissing him. I therefore do not find that the award of the 3 month’s wages for unfair dismissal is unjustified.

Final Orders

1. In the final analysis, I find that the appeal has no merits and I dismiss the same. I uphold the orders of the ERT. The employer is to comply with the orders of the ERT within 21 days from the date of this judgment. I also order costs in favour of the employee in the sum of $3000 to be paid within 21 days.

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Hon. Madam Justice Anjala Wati
Judge
01. 04. 2021