Fairtrade joins calls for restoration of workers’ rights in Fiji

29-09-2012

Fairtrade International (FLO), the IUF, ITUC and British TUC have issued a joint statement [1]calling for “full restoration of workers’ and farmers’ rights to.. freedom of association and collective bargaining to be recognized..as a key part of the process of democratic reform in Fiji”.

The statement continues “We believe that an essential step towards that goal will be to resume a dialogue on workers’ rights with local and international stakeholders, including the ILO [2]. We are committed to working with all the relevant stakeholders in order to improve industrial relations in the Fijian sugar industry”.

All of Fiji’s sugar crop is bought by UK-based sugar processors,Tate& Lyle including a part coming from fairtrade certified sugar farmers which is sold under the fairtrade label.

IUF general secretary Ron Oswald commented “We very much welcome the support of Fairtrade International in the campaign for restoration of workers’ rights and democracy in Fiji”.

The International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF) is an international federation of trade unions representing workers employed in agriculture and plantations; the preparation and manufacture of food and beverages; hotels, restaurants and catering services; all stages of tobacco processing. The IUF is composed of 394 affiliated organizations in 126 countries representing a combined membership of around 2,6 million.

How to contact the IUF:
Email: [email protected]
Post: Rampe du Pont-Rouge, 8, CH-1213, Petit-Lancy (Switzerland)
Phone: + 41 22 793 22 33
Fax: + 41 22 793 22 38

Links:
[1] http://cms.iuf.org/sites/cms.iuf.org/files/Fiji Joint Statement.pdf
[2] http://cms.iuf.org/?q=node/1930