Health workers owed $1.7m in unpaid overtime

Health workers are owed approximately $1.7 million in unpaid overtime from January to March this year, as budget constraints continue to strain the Ministry of Health’s operations.

The figures were revealed in Parliament by Minister for Health Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu in response to a written question by opposition MP Premila Kumar, highlighting growing pressure on frontline health services.

The Ministry said eight of its 14 cost centres — including major facilities such as the Colonial War Memorial Hospital and Labasa Hospital, as well as divisional health services — have already exhausted their overtime budgets.

To manage the shortfall, heads of cost centres have been directed to implement Time Off-In-Lieu (TOIL) once overtime allocations are depleted.

According to the response, the Ministry had allocated $7.5 million for overtime, but expenditure has reached about $9.9 million, exceeding the budget by $2.4 million.

While all overtime up to December 2025 has been paid, approved overtime from January this year has continued to accumulate due to insufficient funds.

The unpaid amount — estimated at $1.7 million — is expected to rise further as data from several major cost centres is still being compiled.

The liability affects staff on Band E and below, including registered nurses, medical imaging technologists and senior pharmacy technicians who have carried out overtime duties but have not yet been paid.

The Ministry said the decentralised budgeting system places responsibility on individual cost centres to manage overtime spending, including salaries, wages and allowances.