Four-day week, work from home could ease fuel crisis: Narube

A shorter working week and working from home are options the Government should seriously consider to reduce fuel consumption if the Middle East conflict continues to disrupt global oil supply.

Unity Fiji leader Savenaca Narube made the call when asked by this masthead whether measures adopted by other countries, including Sri Lanka, which reduced its working week to four days to cut fuel use, could work in Fiji.

"That would have to be in the mix," Mr Narube said. "Work from home — all those things will need to come in."

The former Reserve Bank of Fiji governor said Fiji had no control over fuel supply, so managing demand was the most practical option available.

"We don't have any control of supply, so we must manage demand," he said.

"We cannot just sit back and expect the best to happen — that is where we will be caught if the situation worsens."

Mr Narube said the Government needed to urgently announce a clear contingency plan rather than waiting for the crisis to deepen.

"We need the government to come out clearly and tell us what those plans and strategies are," he said.

"What if this continues after three weeks? What contingency measures are they thinking about?"

The Coalition Government has already established a Fuel Advisory Committee and convened a fuel crisis task force as revealed by Finance Minister Esrom Immanuel.

Mr Immanuel has also assured Fijians there will be no fuel price increase until at least May 2026, as current stocks were purchased before global prices spiked.

Mr Narube said the country's regulated fuel pricing system also needed careful review as world crude prices continued to rise.