Mixed feelings in Fiji over NFP's proposed minimum wage raise

Transcript

Fiji's Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry has issued a statement stressing the need for a living wage for Fijians.

But Mr Chaudhry says Labour's solution meets all the groups that are giving their recommendations halfway.

"Well the unions here are demanding $4.00 an hour. According to a report that has been given to the government by a consultant, the minimum wage $2.68 is recommended," he said.

"Now that is not going to do anything at all in terms of giving relief to the people who are in this category."

Mr Chaundhry says the possible negative effects are significant.

"There's some concern that minimum wage is raised too high, it will result in job losses and may in fact adversely on local small businesses, so there has to be some sort of a balance between the two competing interest here, Mr Chaudhry said"

The CEO of the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation Nesbitt Hazelman agrees job losses are likely.

"We have to provide new jobs for young school leavers, first timers and a minimum wage of that sort of level will probably just work in the opposite direction."

"We'd like to see young school leavers actually and first time job seekers getting to employment, get the necessary skills they need and work up the wage ladder," he said.

Mr Hazelman supports the need for a positive change to the minimum wage, but is concerned with job opportunities in Fiji with the change.

"It's important that we create an environment that where everybody has access to paid employment, whilst we're not advocating that we should be paying below minimum wage, I'm taking a step back and looking at the fundamental before we talk about wage increases."

"It's important to skill our staff. We're getting a lot of expected staff overseas to trade positions. Why don't we train our local people and get them up to have decent work and decent wages?"

General Secretary of Fiji's Trades Union Congress Attar Singh backs the move.

Mr Singh says he was involved in a job evaluation exercise with Fiji's Telecom company in 2008, where the workers there proposed $4.86 an hour for unskilled workers.

"From that time, we need to adopt that as a figure as a minimum for unskilled workers that many years ago."

"What we are now talking about is I think there is a need for us to move from the concept of minimum wage to the concept of living wage. So that workers are then treated as people,"he said.

Mr Singh says it's time to support families who rely heavily on the minimum wage.

"People with families and family responsibilities, that they have children to educate, families to feed and need to house them, need to clothe them and they also need to put aside a few dollars a week for a rainy day," he said.

"That can't hardly be done on $2.68/$3.00 an hour and we as an organisation will support that [NFP] sort of increase to minimum wage for any worker and skilled workers wholeheartedly."

Sales assistant at Suva's garment store Shopaholic Fiji Dan Matanineke is sceptical about whether the wage would get to $5.00 but he says it would be good given the high cost of living.

"Cost of living is just going up and up day by day. Every day every new month, we come up with a new price increase of items. It's just ridiculous."

RNZ International sought comment from the ruling Fiji First party and the main opposition party the Social Democratic Liberal Party but they both declined to say anything.