A security company is being investigated following a viral video circulating on social media alleging unsafe treatment of a worker.
In the video, a man walking in the rain with his belongings alleges he was dropped off in different locations on different days and forced to walk home after working past midnight for a security company.
Permanent Secretary for Employment, Jone Maritino Nemani, confirmed that the Ministry’s Labour Inspectors have been directed to urgently assess the circumstances surrounding the alleged incident and determine whether any provisions of Fiji’s workplace laws may have been breached.
Nemani said the Ministry takes any allegations involving the safety, dignity, and welfare of workers extremely seriously.
“Under Section 9 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1996, every employer in Fiji has a clear legal obligation to ensure the health and safety of their workers. If the allegations currently circulating on social media are substantiated, such conduct may amount to a serious breach of those obligations.”
Nemani says employers must understand that their responsibility for worker safety does not simply end when a shift finishes.
He says the law requires employers to maintain safe systems of work, including safe access to and from workplaces, so far as is reasonably practicable.
The Permanent Secretary further states that employers are legally required to provide and maintain working environments that are safe and without risks to the health and safety of their employees.
He adds this includes ensuring that machinery, equipment, and systems of work are safe, properly maintained, and supported by appropriate information, instruction, training, and supervision.
Nemani also states that employers have a continuing obligation to maintain workplaces and working environments that do not expose employees to unnecessary health or safety risks, including the provision of adequate facilities for employee welfare.
“In sectors such as private security, employers must also remain mindful of any industry-specific legal obligations. Under the Security Services Regulation 2015, employers are required to provide transportation for security officers between 10pm and 6am where public transportation is not reasonably available.”
Nemani says the Ministry will not prejudge the outcome of the investigation but made it clear that any employer found to have failed in their obligations under Fiji’s employment laws could face enforcement action.
“Where workers are required to perform duties during late hours, in isolated locations, or in circumstances where public transportation may not be readily available, employers are expected to take all reasonable steps to ensure those workers are not exposed to unnecessary risk.”
The public is reminded that workplace safety in Fiji is protected under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1996, which places clear legal obligations on employers to provide and maintain working arrangements that are safe and without risks to health.
