Agni Deo Singh

Agni Deo Singh is an Indo-Fijian trade unionist, politician, and Cabinet Minister. He served as general secretary of the Fiji Teachers Union (FTU) from 1999 to 2006, and again from 2007 to 2022. After being elected to the Parliament of Fiji in the 2022 election, he is currently Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations in the coalition government.

Agni Deo Singh
Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations
Assumed office
24 December 2022
Prime MinisterSitiveni Rabuka
Preceded byPremila Kumar
Member of the Fijian Parliament
for NFP List
Assumed office
14 December 2022
Member of the Fijian Parliament
for Macuata East Open
In office
13 May 2006 – 5 December 2006
Preceded byKrishna Datt
Succeeded byNone (Parliament disestablished)
Personal details
Political partyFiji Labour Party
National Federation Party

Singh was born in rural Macuata in Vanua Levu, the second largest island in the Fiji Archipelago. He trained as a teacher at Corpus Christi Teachers College before completing a diploma and bachelor of arts at the University of the South Pacific.[1] He worked as a teacher in Kadavu, Nausori, and Nasinu.[1] In 1980, he became the secretary of the Rewa branch of the Fiji Teachers Union and in 1984, became the chairman of the branch. In 1987, he became the branch representative to attend national executive meetings and in 1992 became the assistant general secretary. In 1999, following the election of the incumbent, Pratap Chand to Parliament, he was elected general secretary of the FTU. As FTU secretary, he campaigned against the racist education policies of the Laisenia Qarase-led government.[2][3]

He was elected to Parliament in the 2006 Fijian general election on the Fiji Labour Party ticket from Macuata East Open Constituency,[4] but continued in his role as FTU general secretary.[5] Shortly after being elected he was one of a group of Labour MPs which challenged party leader Mahendra Chaudhry's nomines to the Senate of Fiji,[6] and as a result was threatened with expulsion from the party.[7] In August 2006, just before the High Court could rule on the issue, the Labour Party dropped disciplinary charges,[8] then immediately revived them once the threat of court action had passed.[9] Ultimately Singh escaped expulsion,[10] but lost his seat in parliament when the House of Representatives of Fiji was disestablished by the 2006 Fijian coup d'état.

Following the coup Singh returned to his post in the trade union,[11] On 14 April 2007, Singh was re-elected to the post of General Secretrary of the Fiji Teachers Union.[12] where he campaigned against forced pay cuts by the military regime.[13] In March 2007 the FTU voted for strike action in violation of state of emergency decrees,[14] resulting in a warning from the military regime.[15] In 2007 he supported the regime's Employment Relations Bill, but wanted it to be passed by a legally elected government.[16] In 2008 he campaigned for teachers to be given backpay for the regime-imposed pay cuts,[17] and against the regime's cuts in teacher numbers.[18] In 2012 he campaigned against the regime's Public Order Amendment Decree, which restricted freedom of speech.[19]

In April 2021 he was re-elected as FTU general secretary.[20] In January 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic he called for schools to stay closed and to re-open only when physical distance was no longer necessary,[21] and expressed concern about the number of teachers becoming infected.[22] He also opposed teachers being told to return to school during Cyclone Cody.[23] He was subsequently attacked by then-Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and education minister Premila Kumar, who suggested his views were due to plans to become an election candidate.[24][25][26]

In April 2022 he attended the National Federation Party AGM.[27] He subsequently contested the 2022 Fijian general election as an NFP candidate,[28] and placed third on the party list with 2,308 votes.[29] On 24 December 2022 he was appointed Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations in the coalition government of Sitiveni Rabuka.[30]

References
  1. Shayal Devi (6 December 2022). "2022 General Election: I want fundamental human rights respected – Singh". Fiji Times. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  2. "Fiji educaton ministry accused of racism". RNZ. 16 June 2004. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  3. "Fiji teachers union leader says policy racially based". RNZ. 27 January 2005. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  4. "ELECTION RESULTS BY THE COUNT". Fiji Elections Office. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
  5. "Striking Fiji teaching staff refuse to budge". RNZ. 26 July 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  6. "Fiji Labour Party overrules leader". RNZ. 28 June 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  7. "A Chaudhry loyalist denies split in Fiji labour Party". RNZ. 7 July 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  8. "Fiji Labour Party drops internal disciplinary charges". RNZ. 16 August 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  9. "Fiji Labour Party rift deepens on report of new attempts to discipline dissidents". RNZ. 22 August 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  10. "Fiji Labour Party expels five of its members". RNZ. 29 November 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  11. "Horseback teacher rides against injustice". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2007.
  12. "Agni Deo Singh retains post". Fiji Times. 15 April 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2007.
  13. "Fiji public service threatens resistance to proposed pay cuts". RNZ. 5 February 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  14. "Fiji teachers vote for industrial action to fight pay cuts". RNZ. 21 March 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  15. "Fiji public sector unions silent on military's warning". RNZ. 23 March 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  16. "Mixed reaction to decision to shelve Fiji's new Employment Relations Bill for six months". RNZ. 24 September 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  17. "Fiji public servants still chasing backpay as wage cuts are slowly restored". RNZ. 5 May 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  18. "Fiji's confederation of public sector unions angry at interim govt's move". RNZ. 6 November 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  19. "Fiji Teachers Union wants new Public Order Act removed". RNZ. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  20. Praneeta Prakash (18 April 2021). "FEO releases provisional FTU election result". FBC News. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  21. Shanil Singh (3 January 2022). "Re-open schools when physical distancing is no longer necessary – FTU". Fiji Village. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  22. Iva Danford (10 January 2022). "FTU claims more than 500 teachers are in isolation". Fiji Village. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  23. Shanil Singh (10 January 2022). "FTU questions Ministry's decision to call teachers unaffected by flooding back to work". Fiji Village. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  24. Iva Danford (18 January 2022). "Nobody asked the teachers to go to school during the cyclone, I'm informed Agni Deo Singh will stand as a candidate - AG". Fiji Village. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  25. Iva Danford (20 January 2022). "202 teachers are COVID positive to date and it is not the exaggerated numbers by Singh – Kumar". Fiji Village. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  26. Naveel Krishant (17 July 2022). "Education Minister questions the sincerity of Agni Deo Singh towards his members". Fiji Village. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  27. Navitalai Naivalurua (4 April 2022). "NFP and People's Alliance working together to rescue Fiji from crisis - Rabuka". Fiji Village. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  28. Krishneel Nair , Vijay Narayan (4 November 2022). "Founder of FRIEND Sashi Kiran and former FTU General Secretary Agni Deo Singh part of the last batch of NFP's proposed candidates". Fiji Village. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  29. "Agni Deo Singh (274)". Fijian Elections Office. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  30. Apenisa Waqairadovu (24 December 2022). "Siromi Turaga sworn in as new AG". FBC News. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
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