Rumbles in Fiji sugar industry

The failure of the Sugar Advisory Council to find a basis for agreement on the terms of a new cane contract is creating an issue of major proportions in Fiji.

In May, two Indian leaders—the general secretary of the Fiji Kisan Sangh, Pandit Ayodhya Prasad, and the secretary of the Alliance Cane Contract Committee, Mr. M, T. Khan—called for the declaration of a dispute in the sugar industry. In this way the negotiation of a new cane contract can be put to arbitration.

In a joint statement, Pandit Prasad and Mr. Khan declared that the state of uncertainty about the future contract was a matter of “grave concern to the cane farmers”.

“The current contract expires in March, 1970. There is therefore no contract to cover the 1970 harvest,” their statement said.

“The Sugar Industry Ordinance required discussions on the terms of a new contract to have begun about March last year and it is a matter for regret that 14 months later these discussions have not been resolved either in agreement or dispute.

“Time is fast running out and this state of uncertainty is causing increasing anxiety.

“The Sugar Advisory Council should either produce without delay a draft contract for consideration by growers or, as seems likely, if there is no agreement on the terms of a new contract, a dispute should be declared and the matter referred to arbitration as provided for in the Sugar Industry Ordinance.”

The Sugar Advisory Council however, does not want a dispute declared while there is any “reasonable possibility” of agreement being reached on the terms of a new contract.

Secretary of the Sugar Board, Mr. D. V. Tarte, said on May 21 that if Mr. Justice Marsack, Independent Chairman of the Board, granted a dispute certificate at this stage, he would be “doing a grave injustice to the sugar industry”.

The council was due to meet again on June 4 for further discussions on the contract.