MEDIA RELEASE
ACCF Undertakes Awareness Sessions with The Fiji Trades Union Congress
The Accident Compensation Commission, Fiji (ACCF) CEO, Mr. Parvez Akbar ran an awareness session at the Fiji Trades Union Congress Council meeting on 06th March 2021. The session was with the trade union leaders, namely Presidents and General Secretaries of unions in Fiji, and other Executive Board members including sub-committee members of the Fiji Trades Union Congress from different parts of Fiji.
The session covered the rights, entitlements and obligations under the Accident Compensation Act 2017.
Mr. Akbar highlighted the benefits of the Accident Compensation Scheme for workers. Particularly given the challenges that existed prior to the introduction of the Accident Compensation Scheme. These included workers having to prove fault of the employer, being caught up in protracted and acrimonious legal proceedings, incurring legal costs and unreasonable exclusions.
The process for applying for compensation is far simpler with ACCF compared to the old law, and the amount of compensation paid is higher. More workers have access to compensation now than ever before.
The CEO advised that the majority of applicants for compensation for injuries arising from motor vehicle and employment accidents would not have received compensation under the previous legal framework since it was fault based compared to the ACCF no-fault scheme.
The FTUC thanked ACCF for undertaking the awareness session as a result of which the members present had much more knowledge about the scheme. Individual unions expressed their interests in having similar sessions conducted with them.
ACCF has paid in excess of $17 million in compensation since 01st January 2018 and has paid the sum of $2,780,000.00 for employment accidents.