Singh: Any minimum wage increase ‘has to be done incrementally’

Fijians hoping for the Fiji Trades Union Congress’ (FTUC) proposed $8-an-hour living wage will have to wait, as Minister for Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations Agni Deo Singh says any increase “has to be done incrementally.”

Mr Singh made the comments yesterday following Government’s stance that a $100,000-funded review of the current minimum $5 an hour wage about to begin.

“The minimum wage review is an exercise that we are about to commence and there is a process to it,” Mr Singh said.

He said consultation would first take place between employer and worker representatives, before consultants carried out their own round with sectors and stakeholders.

A recommendation would then go to the tripartite Employment Relations Advisory Board, which will advise him as Minister regarding the increase.

“When the minimum wage is reviewed, the sectoral wages also go up by the same proportion,” he said.

Regarding the living wage, he says remains the ultimate goal.

“Living wage means what a family requires, to meet all the basic needs and have a decent living. That is something we all aspire for and want to gradually reach,” he said.

Mr Singh’s comments follow Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s remarks early this month that an $8 wage was “unsustainable” amid the fuel crisis, after FTUC’s push during its 51st Biennial Delegates Conference in Nadi.

The Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation has also opposed the proposed $8 per hour rate.