Government jobs
Rajeshwar Singh, FPSA general Secretary, Suva
I refer to the letter in Your View column (FS 27/7/16) by Saverio Baleikanacea which contains inaccuracies regarding the Fiji Public Service Association.
Mr Baleikanacea is advised that he should know his facts before putting pen to paper. Perhaps after his retirement he has lost touch with the changes that have taken place in the area of employment relations. We strongly refute his allegations that the association refused to represent its members. His misrepresentation of facts is inexcusable as he has been our ex-member and also an ex-employee of the association.
FPSA took the case of PSC staff on November 4, 2015 regarding the restructure under the Civil Service Reform programme, and redundancy of employees, although many of them were non members.
The association and the Commission under the chairmanship of the Solicitor General had several meetings on the payment of redundancy and the replacement of staff from PSC to other ministries and departments.
After protracted negotiations and several meetings including exchange of letters the talks came to an end without any resolution to the dispute.
On November 16, 2015 the association reported a Trade Dispute to the Arbitration Court as a dispute of interest, pursuant to Employment Relations (Amendment) Act 2015, on behalf of the FPSA members to seek realistic level of redundancy payments in relation to their years of service.
We wish to inform Mr Baleikanacea that our dispute is still with the Arbitration Court and we are awaiting the convening of the Court to progress the redundancy claim further on behalf of our members.
Natabua, Saru Raod
Arien Vikash Kumar, Nadi
As you enter the Natabua Road from the main Queens Highway, first you’ll see the tall mango trees on both sides of the road which is the best substitute for a Bus Shelter (probably that’s the reason there is no bus shelter on the Junction till today).
Further in, is the Lautoka Corrections Centre with staff quarters, then a junction on the left leading to Golden Age Homes and a secondary school.
Bit further along the main Natabua Road, on left is a prominent Government School (Primary) and one of the Fiji’s largest Universities i.e “FNU”.
Also on the left is the Natabua Police Post. Directly opposite the post office, on the right is Natabua Housing.
What else is expected on or along this road?
A horrific accident is what we can expect next (sooner or later) on this road if the condition of the road and footpath remains the same.
The real journey starts passing the biggest AOG Church towards the Saru Water Treatment Plant.
From here, you will see houses on both sides. What really catches one’s attention is that the doors and windows of all these houses along the roadside are always seen closed during the daytime.
Guess what? It’s not because of frequent daylight robberies or “what” but only because of the “Dust”. People have to hide behind the closed doors and windows to duck the dust.
Another common sight would be the “brown flower gardens” in front of these houses. Colourful flowers are always covered with dust.
Probably a visit along this road will open some closed minds and eyes.
Wave energy?
Edwin Gardner, Suva
Just wondering, how a wave energy reading device that was donated to Fiji by a German institution through a USP department and was placed outside the Hideaway Resort on the coral coast is doing?
The device was placed at roughly 15 metres depth although no specification about 15 metres at low or high tide was given; also whether 15 metres from the top or bottom of the device.
The device was to be level but no leveler was used. The device was also placed on a sandy bottom so it would probably sink over time.
I hope it is not concluded that Fiji has no wave energy simply because a device was not laid down according to specifications so maybe inaccurate readings.
Letter of The Month
Congratulations Health Minister
I write to warmly congratulate the Minister for Health, Jone Usamate for his no nonsense attitude towards the provision of health services at our hospitals and health centres.
He is simply not prepared to accept sub-standard performance from the medical staff and the hospital administrators.
It is for this reason he has decided to visit hospitals and health centres and see in person the problems which exist there.
This should help to eradicate a number of problems which exist because of sheer lackadaisical (lacking enthusiasm and determination) attitude and negligence of administrators.
In April this year, my daughter was accidently burnt and I took her to Nuffield Clinic, Tamavua, which is not designed to cater for severe burns.
Hence she was transferred to Colonial War Memorial Hospital. For two days she spent time in the Namosi-Tailevu Ward. I was horrified to see the condition of the ward.
The women’s toilet was filthy and had no lights. The hand basin near the bed displayed a coloured chart out-lining six steps to washing hands.
Alas, there was no soap, no hand towel and the hand basin looked very ancient.
A dilapidated liquid soap dispenser had no soap, a sad state of affairs for the largest hospital in our country.
She was eventually transferred to the Burns Unit, an ultra modern addition to the hospital. Here the facilities are excellent and the staff very efficient and courteous, with a few exceptions.
The burns patients are kept far apart to prevent infection and the visiting hours were strictly adhered to.
However, the presence of flies was an annoying factor. Maybe fly-catchers should be installed.
The waiting room for relatives outside the operation theatres is a very uncomfortable place. Poor cross ventilation and lack of fan and proper toilet facilities for men is traumatic.
Men were forced to use the women’s toilets, which too was not in a good condition. Out of three only one was functional.
This is simply an unacceptable condition.
For some odd reason, the hospital administration switches off exterior lights, soon after the visiting hours, covering the car park.
One night after visiting my daughter I was going towards my car in the dark and had a fall in the Ambulance Bay because there was no ramp to the footpath.
Lucky for me at the age of 72, I did not break any bones. However, I had to undergo an x-ray examination because of the bruises and muscular pains which persisted for weeks.
In my view, the exterior lights should be left on for safety and security reasons.
Visitors to the hospital can easily be robbed in the dark.
During heavy rains the New Wing leaks in a number of places, the most significant one being the one right in front of the emergency reception desk.
A huge plastic basin sits there on a rainy day. I am sure this can be easily fixed.
I appeal to all associated with our hospitals and health centres to take pride in their work and make it welcoming and comfortable for all those who use its services.
DEWAN CHAND, NAMADI HEIGHTS
Mr Chand will receive a Micromax mobile phone from
Courts (Fiji) Limited.
Feedback: jyotip@fijisun.com.fj