means the issue of a child or children, whether alive or dead, and for the purposes of this Act birth commences and ends on the actual day of birth, and when 2 or more children are born commences and ends on the day of the birth of the last born of such children;

means the Employment Relations Advisory Board constituted under section 8;

means a worker whose terms of engagement provide for the worker’s payment at the end of each day’s work and who is not re-engaged within the 24 hour period immediately following the payment;

means a person who is under the age of 18 years;

means an agreement made between a registered trade union of workers and an employer which—

• (a)prescribes (wholly or in part) the terms and conditions of employment of workers of one or more descriptions;
• (b)regulates the procedure to follow in negotiating terms and conditions of employment; or
• (c)combines paragraphs (a) and (b);

means treating and negotiating with a view to concluding a collective agreement or reviewing or renewing such agreement;

means a written or oral contract, whether expressed or implied, to employ or to serve as a worker whether for a fixed or indefinite period, and includes a task, piecework or contract for service determined by the tribunal as a contract of service;

means the period of time or the number of days or hours to be worked for which expressly or by implication a contract of service is made;

means—

• (a)a period of 24 hours beginning and ending at midnight; and
• (b)in the case of a shift worker, a continuous period of 24 hours beginning at the time when a worker commences work;

means an individual whose prospects of securing, retaining and advancing in suitable employment are substantially reduced as a result of a duly recognised physical or mental impairment;

means any distinction, exclusion or preference based on the grounds set out in sections 6(2) and 75;

means any termination of employment by an employer including those under section 33;

means a dispute or difference between an employer and a registered trade union connected with the employment or non-employment, the terms of employment, or the conditions of labour of a worker;

means a person employed in connection with the work of a private dwelling-house and not in connection with a trade, business or profession carried on by the employer in the dwelling-house such as a cook, house worker, child’s nurse, gardener, laundry worker, security officer, or a driver of a vehicle licensed for private use;

in a worker’s employment, means if that worker’s employer or a representative of that employer directly or indirectly—

• (a)makes membership of a union or a particular union a condition to be fulfilled if that worker wishes to retain his or her employment;
• (b)makes non-membership of a union or a particular union a condition to be fulfilled if that worker wishes to retain his or her employment; or
• (c)exerts undue influence on that worker, or offers, or threatens to withhold, or does withhold, a monetary incentive or advantage to or from that worker, or threatens to or does impose a monetary disadvantage on that worker, with intent to induce that worker—
  • (i)to become or remain a member of a union or a particular union;
  • (ii)to cease to be a member of a union or a particular union;
  • (iii)not to become a member of a union or a particular union;
  • (iv)in the case of a worker who is authorised to act on behalf of workers, not to act on their behalf or cease to act on their behalf;
  • (v)on account of the fact that the worker is, or, as the case may be, is not a member of a union or a particular union, to resign or leave from any employment;
  • (vi)to participate in the formation of a union; or
  • (vii)not to participate in the formation of a union;

means qualified by age and occupation and in all other respects to be a voting member of a registered trade union in accordance with the union constitution and rules;

in relation to an employer means to use the services of a person under a contract of service;

means a corporation, company, body of persons or individual by whom a worker is employed under a contract of service; and includes—

• (a)the Government;
• (b)other Government entities;
• (c)a local authority;
• (d)a statutory authority;
• (e)the agent or authorised representative of a local or foreign employer;

means the performance by a worker of a contract of service;

means a collective agreement or apprenticeship contract specified under this Act or any other written law or an oral or written contract of service between a worker and an employer;

or court means the Employment Relations Court constituted as a division of the High Court of Fiji under section 219;

means a dispute accepted by the Permanent Secretary under section 170;

means a grievance that a worker, may have against the worker’s employer or former employer because of the worker’s claim that—

• (a)the worker has been dismissed;
• (b)the worker’s employment, or one or more conditions of it, is or are affected to the worker’s disadvantage by some unjustifiable action by the employer;
• (c)the worker has been discriminated within the terms of Part 9;
• (d)the worker has been sexually harassed in the worker’s employment within the terms of section 76; or
• (e)the worker has been subject to duress in the worker’s employment in relation to membership or non-membership of a union;

or tribunal means the Employment Relations Tribunal constituted under section 202;

means a service listed in Schedule 7;

means the body established under the constitution of a registered trade union to manage the affairs of the trade union;

means the spouse or any child of the worker;

means all work or service that is extracted from any person under the threat of any penalty and is not offered voluntarily, but does not include—

• (a)any work or service exacted in accordance with compulsory military service laws for work of a purely military character;
• (b)any work or service which forms part of the normal civic, traditional or religious obligations;
• (c)any work or service exacted from any person as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law, or a court order, provided that the work or service is carried out under the supervision and control of a public authority and that the person is not hired or placed at the disposal of private individuals, companies or associations;
• (d)any work or service exacted in cases of emergency, such as war, calamity, threatened calamity, fire, flood, famine, earthquake, violent epidemic or epizootic diseases, invasion by animal, insect or vegetable pests and in general any circumstances that would endanger the existence or well- being of the whole or part of the people of Fiji; or
• (e)communal services of a kind performed by members of the community in the direct interest of the community in accordance with their rules or customary practices;

means a contract of service made within Fiji and to be performed wholly or partially outside Fiji and any contract of service with a foreign state;

means a period of 14 consecutive days;

means a company where all of the stock or shares in the capital of the company is or are beneficially owned by the State, whether such shares are held in the name of a Minister, public officer, nominee of the State or otherwise;

includes—

• (a)a person lawfully having charge of a child other than the parents; or
• (b)a person to whose care a child has been committed even temporarily, by a person having authority over the child;

includes measures whether direct (HIV testing), indirect (assessment of risk-taking behaviour) or asking questions about tests already taken or about medication to determine whether a worker has the condition;

means any apparently neutral situation, regulation or practice which in fact results in unequal treatment of persons with certain characteristics that occurs when the same condition, treatment or criterion is applied to everyone, but results in a disproportionately harsh impact on some persons on the grounds set out in sections 6(2) and 75 and is not closely related to any inherent requirement of the job;

includes—

• (a)a business, trade, manufacture, workplace or calling of employers;
• (b)a calling, service, employment, handicraft, occupation or vocation of workers;
• (c)a branch of an industry; and
• (d)a group of industries;

for the purposes of section 254 includes injury to a person in respect of the person’s business, occupation, employment or other source of income and includes any actionable wrong;

for the purposes of sections 254 and 255, means to cause in the mind of a person a reasonable apprehension of injury to the person or to a member of the person’s family or to any of the person’s dependants or violence or damage to a person or property;

means a labour inspector designated for the purpose of this Act;

means a labour officer designated for the purpose of this Act;

means a city council, town council or the Central Board of Health;

means the act of an employer—

• (a)in closing the employer’s place of business, or suspending or discontinuing the employer’s business;
• (b)in discontinuing the employment of workers employed by the employer in consequence of a dispute;
• (c)in breaking any of the employer’s employment contract; or
• (d)in refusing or failing to engage workers for any work for which the employer usually employs the worker,

with a view of compelling the workers to accept terms or conditions of or affecting employment;

means a Mediator appointed under section 193 and includes the Chief Mediator;

means the ministry responsible for the administration of this Act;

means a calendar month, or a period commencing on a date in a calendar month and expiring on the day preceding the corresponding date in the succeeding calendar month;

when used with reference to a trade union, means a member of the executive committee or an officer of a branch of the trade union but does not include an auditor;

means a contract of service which is not required to be made in writing, but which may be subsequently evidenced in writing;

means a person to whom articles or materials are given out to be made up, cleaned, washed, altered, ornamented, finished or repaired or adapted for sale in the person’s own home or on other premises not under the control or management of the person who gave out the materials or articles;

means a person who is employed under a contract of service on a part-time basis for a specified number of hours a day or specified number of hours or days a week;

with reference to an employment dispute, means—

• (a)a registered trade union; or
• (b)an employer;

means the permanent secretary for the Ministry;

means any work the pay for which is estimated by the amount of work performed irrespective of the time occupied in its performance;

includes a Ministry or a Department of Government or a local authority or a public enterprise as defined in section 2 of the Public Enterprises Act 2019 or a government company;

means a public holiday listed under section 64 and includes a special public holiday declared under section 66;

means no longer being needed at work for reasons external to a worker’s performance or conduct pursuant to the reasons and processes set out in Part 12;

means the register of trade unions kept under section 118;

means a person registered under the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act 2010;

means the office in Fiji of a registered trade union as the head office of the trade union;

means the postal address in Fiji of a registered trade union;

or trade union means a trade union registered as a trade union under section 120;

means the Registrar of Trade Unions appointed under section 116, or an assistant Registrar;

means the salary or wages actually and legally payable to a worker under the worker’s contract of service and any additional emoluments including—

• (a)time and piece wages, overtime, bonus or other special payments; or
• (b)allowances, fees, commission, or any other payment, whether in one sum or several sums, and whether paid in money or not;

means when a worker is sexually harassed in his or her workplace, or places where workers are gathered for work-related purposes including social activity, when an employer or its representative or a co-worker—

• (a)makes a request of a worker for sexual intercourse, sexual contact or any other form of sexual activity which contains an implied or overt—
  • (i)promise of preferential treatment in that worker’s employment;
  • (ii)threat of detrimental treatment in that worker’s employment; or
  • (iii)threat about the present or future employment status of that worker;
• (b)by the use of a word (whether written or spoken) of a sexual nature or materials of a sexual nature;
• (c)by physical behaviour or gestures of a sexual nature; or
• (d)creates an intimidating, hostile or humiliating work environment by conduct, word or both on the basis of gender,

that subjects the worker to behaviour which is unwelcome or offensive to that worker (whether or not that is conveyed to the employer, its representative or the perpetrator) and which is either repeated or of such a nature that it has a detrimental effect on the worker’s employment, job performance or job satisfaction; in this context, detrimental effect includes the creation of an environment which affects a worker’s physical, emotional or mental health and well-being;

includes a boat, vessel, hovercraft or craft of any kind;

means a legally married wife or husband;

means the act of a number of workers who are or have been in the employment of the same employer or different employers—

• (a)in discontinuing their employment either wholly or partially, or in reducing the normal performance of it;
• (b)in breaching their employment contract which results in a reduction or discontinuance in the work of the employer;
• (c)in refusing or failing after such discontinuance to resume or return to their employment;
• (d)in refusing or failing to accept engagement for work in which the workers are usually employed; or
• (e)in reducing their normal output or their normal rate of work with the intention of disrupting the work,

if the act is due to a combination, agreement, common understanding or concerted action, expressed or implied, made or entered into by the workers; but does not include a union meeting agreed to between a trade union and the employer;

means a financial or other benefit given by a trade union to a member of the trade union in consideration of a strike or lock-out;

means an amount of work that is customarily performed or practised in an ordinary working day in a trade, industry, workplace or occupation;

includes the regulations;

means the union of a group of not less than 7 workers the principal object of which is to regulate the relationship between—

• (a)workers and employers for the conduct of collective bargaining on terms and conditions and related matters; or
• (b)workers,

irrespective of whether such union would, if this Act had not been enacted, have been deemed to have been an unlawful union by reason of one or more of its objects being in restraint of trade;

means the period in respect of which wages earned by a worker are payable;

means all payments made to a worker for work done in respect of the worker’s contract of service but does not include—

• (a)the value of a house, accommodation or the supply of food, fuel, light, water or medical attendance, or amenity or services;
• (b)a contribution paid by the employer on the employer’s own account to a pension fund or provident fund;
• (c)a travelling allowance or the value of a travelling concession;
• (d)a sum payable to the worker to defray special expenses incurred by the worker by the nature of the worker’s employment; or
• (e)a gratuity payable on discharge or retirement;

means a wages council order made under section 50;

means a wages regulation order made under section 54;

means a period of 7 consecutive days;

means a person who is employed under a contract of service, and includes an apprentice, learner, domestic worker, part-time worker or casual worker;

means any place, whether or not in a building or structure, including a ship, vehicle or aircraft, where workers are required to perform the contract of service;

means a contract of service which, under this Act, is required to be made in writing; and

includes a period commencing on a date in a calendar year and expiring on the day preceding the corresponding date in the following calendar year.