Teachers' Unions versus the State

By the end of 2019, high school teachers in Rotuma, Fiji, concluded that their situation was near a breaking point. Compared to other third world countries, Rotuman teachers' pay ranked 101st, with an average starting salary of around $ 10 000 per annum and some teachers taking side jobs to make ends meet. Health insurance benefits were shrinking.

Further, the government was considering some drastic changes to the employment relationship laws which were bitterly opposed by teacher unions. As frustration increased, talk in the social media platform and elsewhere turned to the possibility of a strike. The union leaders suggested staging a nationwide strike that would affect some schools initially and then spreading it to remaining schools while the external examinations approached.

Question

i. Discuss the rationale of organizing an industrial strike in resolving employee dispute with the state, focusing on the detrimental effects strikes has on various stakeholders in an economy.

ii. Describe other options teachers and their union have in resolving the impasse before opting for a strike? For each point illustrate your discussion with examples from Pacific island countries (PICs)

[20 marks]