Q1. Could you
give us some background information on FEF?
A1. FEF was set up initially as the Fiji
Employers Consultative Association (FECA)
as a body for employers which could advise
them mainly on two aspects: Human Resources
and Industrial Relations. In the past, unions
have been fairly well prepared and organized
when arriving at the negotiating table. So
FECA was set up as the Employers' arm to help
tackle HR and IR issues. As time went on the
Secretariat found that its services were asked
to cope with a wider range of employer services.
FEF currently has around 230 members, ranging
from very large companies like the Fiji Sugar
Corporation, Emperor Gold Mines, Fiji Telecomm
and the Fiji Electricity Authority, to many
small companies - which make up the majority
of our membership.
Q2. What are the main services and benefits
that a foreign investor can have access
to when becoming a member of the FEF?
A2. As part of the subscription fee,
the new member receives a bound set of the
Laws of Fiji which relate to labour/management
issues, eleven sets of legislation in all.
All too often, people come here and set
up without really understanding or having
access to the laws. It is often when they
strike problems that they come to us for
help. FEF's Board meets on a quarterly basis
and it's five councils meet every month
discussing topical issues which are of concern.
Any member can send a representative to
attend these meetings. We try to be proactive,
for example at the moment; we have the Industrial
Relations Bill back on the agenda. FEF spent
a lot of time going through this Bill in
detail when it was first tabled in 1995
when FEF sought the assistance of an expert
from overseas to help with this. We were
concerned with Government's recent suggestion
that the Bill should be scrapped and re
looked at, and were able to get the Labor
Department to agree not to scrap it but
to re-table it. This allows us to revisit
the areas that are perceived to be weak
and to rectify those along will any other
amendments that need to be made.
The Federation's biggest strength is that
it is basically an avenue for employers
- new and old - to be seek assistance, advice
or access to Government. We have a very
close working relationship with the Government
and get on very well with the Prime Minister
and his team. If someone has an issue that
is of national importance or is affecting
their operations as an investor, we help
set up appointments with the relevant authorities.
Q3. Could you give us an example of that
relation that you have with Government that
has helped solve any past problems or issues
faced by employers?
A3. The gold mine was under an attack
by the unions many years ago. The gold miners
staged a pretty nasty strike and both parties
stood their ground. The mine kept going
and there has not been a strike there for
over eight years. The dispute recently resurfaced
and the Labour Ministry ordered its OH&S
Inspectors to visit the mines and to report
on various perceived defects in safety issues.
The gold mine does not fall under Fiji's
Occupational Health and Safety Act, as all
mining and quarrying activities are administered
by the Mineral Resources Act. After all,
the mining inspectors know a lot more about
mining than a labor inspector who has never
been in a mine before. The issue became
quite public and started to get out of hand.
We managed to help get the two parties together
and indeed the labor officers went around
to the mine. They were meant to spend one
week there but only lasted a day, after
realizing it really was not an activity
they knew anything about. The issue was
resolved and the mine is continuing to invest
in more exploration and drilling work.
On the whole, we act as a conduit between
the private sector and Government to help
ensure that we are all batting on the same
wicket.
Q4. FEF represents more than 30,000 employees
and 230 companies in Fiji. What sectors
of the economy is this Federation currently
representing?
A4. FEF represents all sectors ranging
from Airline operators to Warehouses, from
large to small employers.
The Federation mainly delivers its services
to its members through it's five councils.
These Councils meet on a monthly basis and
tackle industry issues of importance.
For example: we have a Human Resource Council
that is currently working on a review of
the draft Industrial Relation's Bill. We
also have a Mining and Quarrying council,
a Tourism and Transportation Council, a
Manufacturers Council and a Financial Services
Council. All of our 230 members can participate
in any of these councils. They are particularly
handy when we get any regulations or Acts
being drafted or reviewed, as it allows
us to pull in a cross section of our members
to work on these enabling us to submit our
recommendations before the proposals become
law.
Q5. Do you represent only the private
sector or some public enterprise as well?
A5. Some of our members are statutory
bodies, government owned corporations and
city councils. We have been trying to attract
the Public Service Commission to become
a member, which would be a great achievement
as it is the largest employer in Fiji. The
statutory bodies members include the FNPF
(Fiji National Provident Fund), the FTIB
(Fiji Trades and Investment Bureau) and
government owned corporations include Fiji
Sugar Corporation, Air Pacific and Airports
Fiji Limited. So FEF membership is not just
confined to the private sector.
Q6. What has been the role of FEF as
regards to the legislation and improvement
of Fijian international trade and what kind
of relations, if any, do you maintain with
other similar associations abroad?
A6. In general - Regionally & Internationally
- we have a fairly close association with
our New Zealand and Australian employer
organoisation counterparts and also with
organisations such as the APO (Asian Productivity
Organization) and the ILO (International
Labor Organization). We are also members
of the IOE ( International Organisation
of Employers) and regularly get together
to discuss employer and labour issues which
largely affect us all.
I personally have been trying to develop
a network of private sector bodies within
our Forum Island Countries. We have 13 Forum
Island Countries in the region, ranging
from as far north as Majuro, and south all
the way to New Zealand and Australia. Some
have strong, well organised Private Sector
bodies whilst others are very weak to non
existant. I have been encouraging the formation
of an "all employer organization"
from all the different countries so we can
share experiences and try and help people
strengthen their own organizations by providing
services that meet their members' needs.
I am sure we can help them and I am confident
that the network will also strengthen our
Trade relations, especially so when the
Forum Secretariat has the new PICTA (Pacific
Island Countries Trade Agreement) fully
implemented.
Q7. The Minister for Finance presented
the annual budget last Friday. You have
been quoted to say: "We are all behind
this budget, the business sector and the
education sector give support to this budget.
This budget will generate employment and
revenue." In what aspects do you think
this budget is going to benefit the business
community in Fiji?
A7. In strengthening investor confidence
leading to an improvement in employment
opportunities. The media is focusing at
the moment on the Budget announcement of
the increase in VAT. The budget requires
revenue of about F$ 1.2 billion and that
has got to come from somewhere. Fiji is
a member of WTO so we are committed to further
reducing tariffs, and I am pleased to see
the in the Budget that Government has stood
firm on this. The Government had earlier
made a commitment to reduce corporate and
personal tax a further 2% to 32% this year,
something that was expected in this budget.
I think it was right to suspend this reduction
in line with the increase in VAT. Otherwise,
it would look as though you are hitting
the average person on the street with an
additional 2.5% in VAT while on the other
hand Government was reducing corporate tax.
I say that we all need to get behind Government's
vision and concentrate on generating jobs,
which will create wealth.
We are encouraging Government to focus
their efforts on a couple of things:
· To try and ensure it manages and
controls its expenses and costs, because
we believe that there is a lot of wastage
which could be saved;
and
· to do everything possible to help
implement a portfolio of new projects and
investments which are out there waiting
to happen. We believe that these will create
a large amount of new employment and could
double the average income in most households.
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Q8. After the
sad events of May 2000 investor confidence
vanished somehow. How do you think this budget
sets Fiji as a more secure destination?
A8. I think there are positive signals.
Government is tackling its national debt.
At the end of this year, we expect our national
debt to be around 46 % of GDP, which is
high as 40 % is meant to be the yardstick
for developing countries. Well, I thought
it was high until I spoke to my counterpart
in Papua New Guinea, where they have a national
debt of 70% of GDP.
Government is committed to reducing our
national debt to 40 % by the year 2005.
I think that is commendable because there
is a huge demand on our limited revenues
and it is easy for all Governments to spend
quite freely and irresponsibly.
The international financial institutions
like the World Bank, European Union (EU)
and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are
a lot more enthusiastic towards financing
projects in Fiji.which must also be an indication
of increased stability and confidence in
Fiji.
Q9. Could you give us some examples of
those projects?
A9. Air Pacific, for example, is talking
to the European Investment Bank (EIB) about
funding its new hotel at Nadi, which will
include some equity from the Colonial National
Bank. I believe it is also talking about
funding an aircraft replacement program.
Air Pacific has two 747-400 series due to
be delivered in March and May next year.
We also have our Port upgrade program in
Lautoka and in Suva to be funded by the
Asia Development Bank and ANZ Bank.
The European Union is funding about F$55
million worth of projects this year - which
includes the relocation of the Lami Rubbish
Dump, the new Fiji School of Medicine, the
new Rewa Bridge etc.
Japanese Aid is funding the new sewerage
outfall at the Kinoya sewage treatment plant.
All or these projects are expected to begin
early in the New Year.
Q10. What are the advantages that Fiji
has comparing to its neighboring countries
in terms of being a secure destination?
A10. When you compare Fiji with PNG
or the Solomons, I would like to think that
we have many advantages to offer. Samoa
is giving Fiji strong competition in economic
advancement but we can handle that. I think
Fiji is still a good place to live. It's
a great geographical location. It is a three
hours flight to Auckland and four hours
to Sydney. We are going to have daily flights
to Los Angeles, Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne
and Brisbane and also have good shipping
services linking us to the rest of the world.
I would like to think that the Reserve Bank
is doing a sterling job monitoring and controlling
Fiji's macroeconomic situation. We have
around F$700 million in reserves which equates
to about 5.8 months of imports.
Our Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF)
is now by far the largest financial institution
in Fiji. Our Federation has nominations
on the board of FNPF- as trustees who help
with the prudent management of these funds.
If you look at some of the countries around
us and see how their national provident
funds have been raped, pillaged and burnt,
including PNG, Solomons, etc., our funds
are reasonably secure.
They are so secure that one of the difficulties,
which the FNPF has to overcome, is its inability
to freely invest offshore and locally. Our
FNPF has over F$2 billion in members' funds
and the question is often asked, "why
can't these funds be used for many of the
new Projects and Developments". These
funds are designed to cater for our members'
retirement plans. FEF's recommendation is
that the 50 % contribution made by the employer
should be held in trust for retirement whilst
the remaining 50 % can be made available
to the employee for school fees, medical
expenses or housing loans. Alternatively,
they could be given the opportunity to withdraw
those funds to invest in Companies on the
Stock Exchange. I think the financial strength
of Fiji has to be commended. Our Government
of the day is made up of largely business
people. Our Prime Minister is talking about
the weaknesses in the civil service. We
admit that we have been losing our skilled
people to migration and we really need to
work together to upgrade our middle management
in both the private and public sectors.
I think when you have a government that
is open and straightforward in facing issues
then the private sector can easily work
with them.
Q11. Everybody is talking about the increase
in the VAT. How do you think this is going
to affect the domestic market taking into
account the possibility of an increase in
the investments?
A11. We currently have households where
there could be ten occupants with only one
income earner. The projects and investments
will see Fiji faced with a shortage of skilled
tradesmen and the increase in employment
could see those households end up with two
or three income earners.
The additional two or three cents a kilogram
on flour caused by the increase in VAT,
for instance, is going to be far outweighed
by the additional income that another income
earner will bring into the family. We have
to focus on employment creation and more
investments. Fiji has a lot of potential.
People should not just go around being negative,
I think we should be talking positive about
the opportunities that Fiji has. In the
IT area we could easily get some good contracts
which will be employing hundreds of people
in back-office data processing.
We have on average of 17,000 school leavers
entering our workforce a year. We would
be lucky if 8,000 were able to find permanent
jobs and we are not talking about subsistence
or casual part time jobs. These are well-educated
teenagers, with a good command of English
and good computer skills.
Parents spend a lot of money in order to
get their children educated and the poor
kids come out of school highly motivated
and cannot get a job. How de-motivating
can that be?
Q12. The Fiji Islands Business Council
wants to centralize all the different bodies
(FEF, FCCI, FMA, etc.) under one unique
institution. FEF is included in this project
and what do you think about this?
A12. We were the originator of this Peak
Private body idea. For the last eight years
we have been promoting the idea of a Fiji
Island Business Council. We have about 32
different private sector organizations that
we would e-mail and say we are having a meeting
to discuss the following issue of national
importance and your attendance and input would
be appreciated. The attendance was always
very good, probably a minimum of 20 representatives
of these private sector organisations at a
time. It was kept very informal, whereby we
would discuss issues and then we would make
a statement to Government. We have been trying
to encourage the formation of a private sector
peak body but are mindful of the fact that
you cannot take away the individuality of
different organizations.
To try and say that you are going to have
a big body that will do away with a lot
of functions of the individual bodies is
wrong and I do not think it will work. But
we still strongly support the idea of a
peak body that could meet on a minimum of
a quarterly basis and discuss issues of
national importance. I think Government
is keen to have a main body to represent
the Private Sector but I do not think that
this Peak Body needs to be as formal as
others have tried to make it out to be.
If you allow individual bodies to maintain
their unique structure and purpose and have
them get together to put across their own
viewpoints, I think that is all that is
necessary.
Q13. We would like to know more about
you. Can you give our readers a brief insight
of your professional background?
A13. I work for our family company, Williams
& Goslings Limited, which employs about
300 people with offices in Suva, Nadi and
Lautoka. Our core business is logistics in
freight forwarding, sea freight, airfreight,
etc. For example we export probably 80 tonnes
of fresh tuna every week to Japan and to the
United States. We are heavily involved in
the export of garments. This year we have
invested in waste management, which has proved
to be a fast growth area. We just celebrated
our 66th birthday. We do not have offices
overseas but rely on a very large network
of agencies. Our job is to facilitate the
movement of freight both inward and outward
and we have made some good advances. Our Customs
entries, for example, are now all lodged electronically.
Three years ago it took an average of two
to three days to process an entry with Customs,
now 70 % of our entries go through the "green
lane" and are being passed within 5 minutes.
Winne cannot be held responsible for
unedited transcription.
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V.I.P. INTERVIEWS
