Fijian poultry workers, many of whom are migrant workers from Bangladesh and the Philippines work under extremely poor conditions on farms and in factories with little health and safety protection. Our project partner, the Fiji Industrial Workers Congress (FTUC) plans to change this.
Organising, started this November with small groups of workers in two factories: Goldman Fielder and Rooster Chicken, which is one of the leading egg producers and distributors in Fiji. As employers in these sectors continue to bring in migrant workers there is an increased chance of further exploitation. Workers remain alienated from the local community and authorities in fear of employer repercussions.
To date, complaints of poor conditions are ignored, including the chicken guts, manure, and maggots in the truck used to transport workers.
With funding from UnionAID, FTUC will provide workers with union awareness training, build membership, increase union representation in dispute resolutions and develop collective bargaining agreements. All these activities will improve wages and conditions in the poultry industry.
