A consultant for the People's Community Network in Fiji says the increase of the national minimum wage is a good step but nowhere near enough.
The Fiji government announced it will increase the rate from $2.00 Fijian per hour to $2.32 from July 1st.
Father Kevin Barr says if the government is really serious about taking people out of poverty the rate needs to be at least $4.20 per hour.
The fact that the government has increased from $2 to $2.32, or brought it back to the original proposal, is good. It's a step in the right direction. But I think we would need to say that more steps need to be taken progressively to bring that national minimum wage up to above the poverty line.
Father Kevin Barr
