The Prime Minister Honourable Voreqe Bainimarama is parroting the same tune as his subordinate the Attorney General and the Chairman of Air Terminal Services in attacking politicians and unionists who have visited and assisted the locked-out workers and ATS shareholders, says the National Federation Party.
NFP Leader Professor Prasad said it was highly unfortunate that honourable Bainimarama chose the opening of a taxpayers’ funded project in Tailevu to accuse and malign politicians and unionists, who amongst many others like the vanua and religious groups have been visiting and providing assistance to the workers locked out by ATS Management for the last three weeks.
“The PM is parroting the same tune as the Attorney General and the Chairman of ATS who happens to be the AG’s brother. All three are speaking the same language, blatantly disregarding the plight of the workers who are 49% shareholders in ATS, turning a blind eye to breaches of Companies Act and mismanagement, and deliberately ignoring the serious error of his Employment and Industrial Relations Minister in the handling of the impasse”.
“Here is a Prime Minister who has done the very opposite of what he has been preaching – common and equal citizenry and that no one will be left behind. His remarks are a kick in the guts of the workers and their families who together with their children spent Christmas and New Year in tents”.
“The PM has called us cheap politicians. Yes, we are cheap in the sense that we are not on a salary of over $328,000 annually, do not get an average of $3000 daily in allowances for overseas travel and always fly first class when traveling overseas like him”.
“We are cheap because we earn only $50,000 per year, use our personal resources to help the needy in whatever little form we can and have provided humanitarian assistance to the ATS workers to bring smiles to their faces and those of their families and children during the festive season, unlike him, his subordinate the AG and his brother”.
“We wear this as a badge of honour”.
Authorised by: –
Professor Biman Prasad
NFP Leader
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