Pensioners in Fiji have sent a petition to interim prime minister, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, calling for an independent inquiry into the reforms being made to Fiji National Provident Fund's pension scheme.
They say around 3,600 Fiji pensioners are affected by changes they call undemocratic and iniquitous, and say their fundamental rights have been breached.
Don Wiseman has more:
"The Fund wants all pensioners to validate their pension status and choose new options by the end of this month. It says the changes are needed to put the Fund on a sustainable footing but many people will face cuts to their pensions. The petitioners say former prime ministers Laisenia Qarase, Mahendra Chaudhry and Sitiveni Rabuka are among the 450 who have signed the document. Others include former opposition leader, Mick Beddoes, and Taufa Vakatale, who has just been appointed as a constitutional commissioner. The petitioners say that those pensioners facing cuts are mainly poor, retired working people and some from the middle class, and they are pleading for interim prime minister to intervene."
