Mediation arrives in Fiji

Macquarie University’s Centre for Dispute Assessment and Resolution (CeDAR) recently conducted the first ever mediation course in Fiji. The course was sponsored by the Fiji Employers Federation, the University of the South Pacific and Macquarie University and had a wide range of participants from industry, government, trade unions and the legal profession. Fiji already has voluntary and compulsory conciliation and arbitration as part of its Trade Disputes Act Cap 97 but a new Act of Parliament currently before the Fiji Parliament will seek to set up a compulsory system of mediation prior to any trade dispute being adjudicated. Culturally Fiji is no stranger to consensual problem solving. However, some variations to the Western model of mediation need to be considered for mediation to operate effectively in Fiji.