Tripartism

Heads For

‘Apartism’

Inflation and another long bout of industrial trouble look

like flaring in Fiji again, writes

Robert Keith-Reid in Suva.

The pointer to this prospect is the imminent probable col lapse of the Tripartite Forum a ‘parliament’ of most trade

unions, many big employers

and the Fiji Government.

It was set up in 1976 with Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara in the chair, and has been a powerful, con troversial, and questioned in fluence in shaping economic events in Fiji.

Strikes and inflation were rife before the forum’s advent.

Since 1976 inflation has dropped from a high of 14% to just over 6% by the end of last year. The number of strikes dropped from 64 costing more than 77 000 man days in 1977, when the forum really began to make its influence felt, to 30 strikes costing a mere 9500 lost days last year.

Various other factors helped with these improvements, but the forum was possibly the most important. Its biggest suc

cess, although employers and

unions have mixed feelings about the real benefit, were deals under which unions agreed to limit 1977-78 pay claims to a maximum of 10% and 1978-79 claims to 7%. But,

as protesting employers noted,

this meant that the maximum also became the minimum be cause no one wanted to settle for less than they could reason ably ask for.

Working through a sub

committee, the forum quickly became the instrument for fix

ing disputes before they be

came strikes and, when strikes occurred, for ending them with processes that sidestepped pro tracted concilation and arbi

tration procedures.

In many instances it was clear that the influence of Prime Minister Mara decided many questions put to the

forum. And foreign employers,

usually the biggest ones, began

commenting privately that they

did not want to risk incurring

Mara’s wrath by challenging

his views in situations when

they really thought that the

unions deserved a firm ‘no’.

Late last year the forum began to falter. Dissension in employers’ circles began to in crease. At the same time unions began to buck at the idea of a third pay restraint deal.

Since the pay limit ‘guideline’ was fixed on the in flation rate, and this was fall ing, the unions could see that 1979-80 curbs could mean far smaller pay rises than the hefty hike Fiji’s urban area workers have learnt to expect as an automatic annual right.

February was the crunch month, when a forum meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mara at his official Suva resi dence ended in deadlock.

Officials of the Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC), representing about 30 unions and 35,000 workers, walked out, warning that there would be no debate on 1979 pay limits until at least two other ques tions were settled.

One was that employers should accept that workers who

got trips overseas for trade union courses should under take them on full pay' and al lowances. The other was the FTUC’s contention that em ployers should be barred from

arriving at negotiating tables

accompanied by professional

industrial relations consultants to help them deal with unions.

According to the FTUC, con sultants put union negotiators at a disadvantage.

But the Fiji Employers

Consultative Association (FECA), with 130 members, said it would not give in on the right to use consultants. Many bosses were not well versed in industrial relations and found that often highly trained pro fessional union negotiators ran

rings around them, itexplained.

Ratu Mara adjourned the frustrated forum meeting angrily, it is reported, and

indefinitely, with the only

agreement for future action being for a seminar to discuss tripartism’s role after 1979.

By early March it looked as if the forum might founder even before the seminar was held as a liferaft for it. There

were reports of a rebellion in FECA, with some members saying that the executive had not been strong enough in resisting union pressure. It was suggested that the FTUC’s motive in objecting to consult ants was to find an excuse for avoiding the renewal of pay re straints.

With no restraint on pay to bolster the gasping private sec tor of Fiji business, some em

ployers were saying, why

bother with any form of forum at all?

NH tourism up

despite a

bad press

The New Hebrides Tourist In formation Bureau, in its January newsletter, says 1978 is expected to prove its ‘biggest year so far’ even though it got off to a bad start with adverse editorial articles in the Aus tralian and New Zealand press.

Accurate statistics were not available but it was thought that air arrivals had exceeded

27 000. The number of visiting cruise vessels had steadily in-, creased.

During the year the Depart ment of Trade, Industry and Tourism produced a report on tourism in Santo in the north ern islands which, said the TIB newsletter, ‘was received ... with mixed feelings’.

The British and French diplomatic offices came in for a serve for badly informing intending visitors to the New Hebrides about visa require ments. ‘We saw quite a few ugly scenes at the Vila airport when these visitors . .. were lit

erally deported as not having a

visa,’ said the TIB.

The TIB also lashed local businessmen for activities

prejudicial to winning the

hearts and minds of visitors. An exchange rate of FNH7O to the Australian dollar was a ‘rip off, said the newsletter, when the recommended rate of exchange was FNHBO to the dollar. And, ‘to charge the equivalent of $A 1.20 for a beer, sometimes warm, or a lemon ade, is not going to endear us to our Aussie or Kiwi clients’.

Pacific airlines

.get together

The Association of South Pa cific Airlines, formed under the [auspices of the South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co operation in Suva in March is ■to hold its inaugural meeting ion May 30-31.

The March meeting was attended by 16 executives from [l2 regional carriers Air Melanesiae. Air Nauru. Air ■New Zealand, Air Niugini, Air Pacific. Cook Islands Airways, Fiji Air, Polynesian Airlines, Quantas, Solair, Talair and UTA French Airlines.

Terry Betham. general man ager of Polynesian Airlines was elected chairman pro tern with Bart Philemon, assistant to the general manager of Air Niugini, as vice-chairman, and

'larend Menon of Air Pacific ecretary-treasurer.

Permanent officers will be ilected this month.

Formed with the object of bstering ‘closer co-operation imongst...airlines serving the louth Pacific Region’, full nembership is available to ‘all irlines having their head •ffice in the South Pacific’. (As isual, ‘South Pacific’ includes juam, the Northern Marianas nd the Trust Territories’ but ot the Australian mainland).

It was decided in March that irlines with headquarters out ide the region which play a art in transport within the re ion would be eligible for lembership at the invitation f the association.

If the past is anything to go on, the association’s future will not be one of sweetness and light. But airline executives re gard it as a major step in the direction of regional co

operation and a strengthening

of the region’s voice against the heftier forces in international air travel.

November for

Club Med N C

Club Mediterranee plans to open the doors on its New Caledonian operation on November 2 after a 5A2.9 million modification of the for mer Chateau Royal hotel in Noumea’s Anse Vata resort suburb.

Club Med managing direc tor, John Youngman, talking of

all-inclusive 8-day/7-night

holidays at around $450, claimed Club Med would ‘match or beat’ Australia’s major Barrier Reef resorts and. ‘taking meals into account, we’re far less expensive than a comparable holiday at one of the major Fijian resorts’. Other Club Med plans for New Caledonia include a resort on the He des Pins with a concen tration on marine and water sport activities.

The old Chateau Royal de spite its modern elegance was badly in need of an injection of life right up to the time its doors closed on February 16.

Its re-opening at Club Med New Caledonia in November will be watched with interest.

Polynesian seek

new fares

Polynesian Airlines and Air New Zealand have filed appli cations for new fares between

Apia and Auckland. Proposals

include a December-January Apia-Auckland-Apia fare of SWS27O for a maximum of 30

days.

In the opposite direction there is a proposal for a SNZ3OS fare from September 1 to November 15 with a mini mum of six days and maximum of 30 days travel.

No changes are proposed in

the regular 30-day excursion

Apia-Auckland fare of SWS3SB but an 8% increase to SNZ43O is proposed for the

Auckland-Apia run.

Polynesian Airlines Terry Betham ... interim chairman