Fiji Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations

TEMPORARY RELOCATION OF THE NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY AND WORKERS COMPENSATION SERVICE (NOHSWC)

The Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations wishes to advise employers, workers, stakeholders, partners and the general public that the National Occupational Health & Safety and Workers Compensation Service (NOHSWC) main office will be temporarily relocated to Mercury House, 158 Victoria Parade, Suva.

The temporary relocation will take effect from 11 June 2026 until further notice.

During this period, all NOHSWC services will operate from the above address, including:

• Compliance (Field Operations) Unit
• Risk Engineering Unit and Capital Projects
• Training, Accreditation, Chemical and Hygiene Unit
• Workers Compensation and Accident Compensation Claims Fund (ACCF) Unit
• Executive Management Staff (Deputy Secretary and Director OHS & Workers Compensation Service)

The Ministry assures the public that all services will continue as normal during the relocation period and every effort will be made to minimize any inconvenience.

For further information or clarification, please contact us on landline number 3303500 or mobile numbers 9907343/ 9914069/ 9905975 / 9906406 /9905977 or email at [email protected]

We thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this period.

EMPLOYMENT MINISTER DELIVERS PACIFIC STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE PACIFIC GROUP AT THE ASIA-PACIFIC GROUP MINISTERIAL MEETING

The Minister for Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations, Honourable Agni Deo Singh, today delivered the Pacific Statement on behalf of the Pacific Group during the Asia-Pacific Group (ASPAG) Ministerial Meeting held on the margins of the 114th International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva.

Addressing the esteemed delegates from across the Asia-Pacific region, Minister Singh highlighted the Pacific's growing commitment to regional labour cooperation and its collective efforts to strengthen the region's voice within the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Speaking on behalf of Pacific member states participating in the Conference, Minister Singh acknowledged ASPAG's longstanding support and collaboration in advancing the interests of the region within the ILO.

“At the outset, we thank ASPAG members for their longstanding cooperation and solidarity in advancing the interests of our region within the ILO,” said Minister Singh.

“The successful hosting of the recent inaugural Pacific Labour Ministers Meeting in Fiji achieved a significant milestone in strengthening regional labour cooperation and delivering on Pacific Leaders’ vision under the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, including for a stronger, more coordinated regional voice in international fora,” he said.

As part of the Pacific Statement, Minister Singh conveyed the Pacific Group's proposal for a Pacific Coordination of ASPAG for the 2026–2027 period and nominated Kiribati, at Ambassador and Head of Mission level, to assume the role of ASPAG Coordinator on behalf of Pacific member states.

The proposal received positive support from regional partners, with Australia supporting the Pacific proposal for a Pacific regional coordinator within ASPAG to amplify the collective voice of Pacific nations and acknowledging Fiji's leadership in advancing the initiative.

Minister Singh welcomed the support, noting that it reflected the growing recognition of the Pacific's contribution to regional and international labour dialogue and cooperation.

“This reflects a collective Pacific approach and our shared commitment to contribute constructively to the work of ASPAG,” Minister Singh stated.

He reaffirmed that Pacific coordination would be undertaken collectively by Pacific member countries, with support from Pacific Ambassadors in Geneva and the Permanent Delegation of the Pacific Islands Forum.

“Should ASPAG members place their confidence in the Pacific, we commit to working closely with all members of the Group, upholding the traditions of ASPAG, facilitating transparent communication, and advancing our common interests within the ILO,” said Minister Singh.

The Minister concluded by thanking ASPAG members for their consideration and reaffirming the Pacific's commitment to strengthening regional solidarity, cooperation and partnership within the ILO framework.

The ASPAG Ministerial Meeting brought together member countries from across Asia and the Pacific to discuss matters of common interest and coordinate regional positions on key labour and employment issues before the International Labour Conference.

Did You Know?

Section 96 of the Employment Relations Act 2007 gives parents and guardians an important role in protecting children at work. If a parent, guardian, or the Ministry objects to a child's employment, the employer must stop employing the child once notified.

FIJI PRESENTS PACIFIC COP31 PRIORITIES AT WTO TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT WEEK

The Minister for Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations, the Honourable Agni Deo Singh, has presented the Pacific's priorities for COP31 and made the case for trade as a driver of climate action, speaking on a high-level panel during the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Trade and Environment Week in Geneva.

The session, co-hosted by Australia and Türkiye on Thursday 4 June, brought a Pacific voice to the WTO floor in recognition of the role of Fiji and Tuvalu as co-hosts of the Pre-COP31 meeting later this year. Minister Singh joined a panel alongside the WTO Deputy Director-General, Mr Jean-Marie Paugam, a senior official from Türkiye, and the Deputy Permanent Representative of Australia's Permanent Mission.

The Minister opened by welcoming the United Nations General Assembly resolution, adopted in New York on 21 May, that operationalises the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on climate change, describing it as a historic step for multilateral climate action and a call to deepen cooperation across climate-related policy areas, including those that are trade-related.

Minister Singh noted Fiji's active engagement in trade and climate cooperation, including the WTO's Committee on Trade and Environment, the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions and Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform processes, as well as the Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate, which Fiji joined in 2024, and the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability.

For the Pacific, the Minister said, climate change remains the single greatest threat to the region's peoples, economies and security, and a central pillar of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. He set out the four priorities anchoring the Pacific's approach to COP31: keeping 1.5°C within reach; enhancing access to climate finance; elevating the ocean-climate nexus; and amplifying Pacific leadership and voices.

The Minister highlighted the recent entry into force of the Pacific Resilience Facility as the region's own financing mechanism for direct investment in community resilience, clean energy transition and climate adaptation, and called for simplified and direct finance pathways for Small Island Developing States and the operationalisation of effective loss and damage arrangements.

Minister Singh said the Pre-COP31 meeting, to be hosted in Fiji alongside Tuvalu in October, 2026 represented an important opportunity to demonstrate Pacific-led climate leadership grounded in Pacific realities, providing political direction and building momentum toward practical outcomes at COP31.

He thanked Australia and Türkiye for including a Pacific voice on the panel and reaffirmed Fiji's commitment to working with partners on trade and climate change.

FIJI DELEGATION MEETS ILO DIRECTOR-GENERAL IN GENEVA

A Fiji delegation led by the Minister for Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations, the Honourable Agni Deo Singh, met the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), His Excellency Mr Gilbert F. Houngbo, in Geneva on Friday, 5 June to brief him on Fiji's labour reform agenda and the Pacific's growing collective voice on labour matters.

The Minister was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary for Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations, Mr Jone Maritino Nemani, together with Fiji's tripartite partners.

Minister Singh updated the Director-General on the progress of the Coalition Government's labour reforms, including the review of the Employment Relations Act 2007, which is before Parliament and scheduled for debate in July 2026. He reported on the significant progress made by Pacific Labour Ministers and senior officials from the inaugural Employment, Climate Change and Security conference of September 2025 to Fiji's hosting of the inaugural Pacific Labour Ministers and Senior Government Officials Meeting in Nadi from 11 to 13 May 2026, which addressed labour mobility, labour migration and the climate resilience of workers and employers across the region.

The Minister emphasised the importance of Pacific Labour Ministers having a collective voice at the ILO to represent the region's unique challenges, particularly the impact of climate change, and reaffirmed Fiji's positions on social justice and social dialogue, decent work, gender equality and inclusion, and social protection.

He noted that the Coalition Government had fully restored the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike, and that the rights and dignity of workers must be respected at all times.

Speaking for Fiji's employers, the President of the Fiji Commerce & Employers Federation), Mr Eldon Eastgate, reaffirmed the role of the private sector in strengthening labour laws, ensuring an adequate supply of labour and the creation of employment, driving productivity, automation and the adoption of artificial intelligence, safeguarding workplace safety, enhancing trade agreements, and protecting and growing small and medium-sized enterprises amid ongoing supply chain challenges.

The Permanent Secretary, Mr Nemani, reaffirmed the collective efforts of all social partners to ensure Fiji's compliance with ILO standards. Quoting the 1944 Declaration of Philadelphia that "labour is not a commodity," he asked the ILO to recognise the distinct labour challenges and vulnerabilities facing the Pacific and called on the Organization to establish a sub-regional office in Suva to strengthen its engagement with the vulnerable small island states of the region.

In response, Director-General Houngbo thanked the Coalition Government of Fiji for its proactive and efficient delivery of labour outcomes for the small island states of the Blue Pacific and acknowledged the speed with which Fiji, as the lead nation, had coordinated and delivered the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' outcomes of September 2025.

He expressed support for the Pacific having a seat and a voice within the Asia-Pacific Group (ASPAG), and congratulated Fiji on, in his words, under-promising and over-delivering over the past three years.







International Labour Organization
Fiji Trades Union Congress-FTUC
Fiji Commerce & Employers Federation (FCEF)

Day 1 of Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) Training: Supporting Returned PALM Workers and Families for Sustainable Reintegration.

Today, participants explored key concepts essential for successful business management, including understanding the qualities of a successful entrepreneur, the different types of business enterprises, effective record keeping, conducting SWOT analysis, managing daily expenses, and identifying areas of strength and opportunities for improvement.

Did You Know?

Children have special protections under the Employment Relations Act 2007. The law limits working hours, requires rest breaks, and prohibits work that interferes with a child's education.

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Did You Know?

Section 98 of the Employment Relations Act 2007 places special protections on children who work between 6:00pm and 6:00am. Employers must comply with all legal requirements and ensure child workers are protected when engaged in any form of night work.