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The Unionist Who Sparked a Coup

By Andrew Casey

Workers Online's Fiji expert Andrew Casey profiles one of the men at the centre of the crisis, detained PM Mahendra Chaudry

Mahendra Chaudry - the Fijian PM who is now being held hostage by terrorists in the Parliament House complex - is well known to many union activists in Australia.

Before leading the Labour Party to power a year ago he was a very active and dynamic Secretary of the Fiji TUC, and the Fiji Public Service Association.

Chaudry was instrumental in developing the trade union movement in that country into one of the most vibrant institutions in the Pacific - especially because he was able to get the active involvement of people from all Fijian communities.

As a trade union leader he was respected in his own country - even if grudgingly by people like Sitiveni Rabuka the former PM and former coup leader.

Chaudry was also widely respected on the international stage because he played an important role on the executive of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and at the Public Services International.

The almost instant response of national union movements from Korea, South Africa, India, New Zealand and the USA - along with Australia - is in part due to Mahendra Chaudry's status in the international union movement.

He is personally known to many union leaders and they are shocked that a man like Mahendra Chaudry, who is known for his drive and commitment to building bridges between the communities of Fiji, is now a hostage to terrorists who threaten democracy.

Felix Anthony, who now leads the Fiji TUC, said this week that the island nation's union leadership was resolute in its commitment to the defense of democratic norms.

The Fiji trade unions understand that their ability to protect their members interests will be severely constrained if the Constitution is abrogated and democratic institutions are swept away.

The local trade union movement has grown and expanded as the democratic 'space' has widened.

If the democratic 'space' now contracts, because the Constitution is abolished, union members will have a harder time defending their rights.

Fiji has been an important investment site for overseas manufacturers looking for cheap labour.

More than 19,000 workers are employed in the island's textile industry, which is largely controlled by Australian investors, but also has important Japanese and Korean interests involved.

Other Pacific Island unions look to Fiji for leadership, strength and inspiration.

If workers have problems in Fiji then workers on other Pacific Islands will have worse problems.

Chinese, Japanese and Korean investors have set up sweatshop plants on islands all over the Pacific.

In some cases, especially in American Samoa and American Saipan, Chinese textile investors particularly have been known to fly in workers from mainland China to compete with the local workforce and force wages and conditions down.

So the International Labour Organisation this week showed an impeccable sense of timing with the release on Thursday of a massive report - Voices at Work- on the rights of workers to organise. ( This report can be downloaded from the website : www.labourstart.org)

The Fiji TUC does not need the ILO report to warn them that if democracy disappears many Fijian workers who attempt to organise will face increasing intimidation, threats and even murder

On the same day the ILO report was released the Secretary of the Fiji TUC Felix Anthony received a hoax call saying the Fiji TUC's offices had been torched. The Fire Services and Police were called out but it was a false alarm.

The Acting leader of the Fijian Labour Party ( while Mahendra Chaudry is being held hostage) has had his house burned down.

And several union leaders and their families have received threatening telephone calls since the terrorist gang, led by George Speight, invaded Parliament House last Friday.

The Fijian union movement organised a national strike on Monday but called if off after a request from the President of Fiji, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.

The union movement has been promised by Ratu Mara that the Constitution will not be abrogated. So, in return, as a sign off respect, they have held back from taking industrial action.

Felix Anthony says the TUC will hold the President to his word.

Only when the President publicly announces that he has abrogated the Constitution will the TUC want action from Australian unions - and others around the world.

There are a lot of twists and turns to this tragedy yet to play out.

On Thursday night it looked like the end to democracy was near and Australian unions would be pushing the button today

But at 1.30am (Fiji time) George Speight held a media conference and said that he had rejected the Great Council of Chiefs offer because it has not gone far enough.

The rest of the world thought the Chiefs has capitulated to terrorism, and the President was about to kill off democracy.

George Speight wanted more...he wants the slow, painful, public strangling of Fijian democracy - and its economy.

While the world union movement is ready to act and shut down Fiji the reality is that the Fijian economy is now already in a nosedive.

In many places shops are closed. There are shortages being reported.

The Fijian docks - the lifeblood of the island - are hardly working.

Food is rotting on the wharves. Goods are decaying.

More than a third of the bus system has now collapsed

Drivers are worried about street violence and hijackings.

Many dockworkers rely on the Island bus services to get to work. No buses. No work.

Many other dockworkers have decided not to turn up for work because they prefer to stay at home, concerned about the safety of their families and houses.

A general strike call by the Fiji TUC, and the international support they have been able to gather, will just be the final act in this tragedy.

  View entire issue - print all of the articles!

  Issue 55 contents

»	Fiji Faces International Union Blockade
»	Workers Return to Dump Reith's Third Wave
»	Budget Raises More Questions than Answers
»	Teachers Finally Achieve Satisfaction
»	FairWear Campaign Targets Uniforms
»	Rio Tinto Appeals for Industrial Peace
»	Beer Hike Sparks Worker Concerns
»	Libs Fail to Block Family Friendly Laws
»	No Joy For 'Back Door' Pete
»	Angry Truckies Converge on Border
»	Unions Dues Test Case Looms
»	Why Solidarity Messages Mean Something
»	Radio Free East Timor Rocks

»	The Soapbox
»	Sport
»	Trades Hall
»	Tool Shed

»	Neale's Spot On!
»	Silence on the GST

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