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10 September, 2005
About 400 members of ICEM affiliate Fiji Electricity Workers Association (FEWA) are preparing to strike this week over Fiji Electricity Authority’s (FEA) refusal to address pay demands and grievances. The union gave managers a 28-day strike notice on 11 August and insisted that failure to enter meaningful negotiations would cause a walkout. Talks did occur last week, but FEA did not address the wage issue or failure to pay past cost-of-living increases that were due. Fiji’s minister of Labour entered the dispute by issuing a letter declaring any strike illegal under the country’s Trades Disputes Act, despite the fact that FEWA has been in compliance with all strike notice and secret ballot provisions.