Comments made by the Minister for Civil Service to perhaps adjust the terms and conditions of employment to ensure they maintain the teachers and nurses and retain them has been labeled as a vote buying gimmick by Fiji Labour Party Leader Mahendra Chaudhry.
Chaudhry says it is ironical that after single-handedly demoralizing the civil service, Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum now desperately talks of incentivising it to retain staff.
In a press conference earlier this week, Sayed-Khaiyum had said that they need to look at incentivising as they prepare for the 2022/2023 National Budget.
He says they will look at the scarcity of skills set and the retention issues within the civil service.
The Minister also says some work has already started in the Ministry of Civil Service.
Sayed-Khaiyum adds the budget will address a number of fundamental changes that are taking place globally and regionally.
However Chaudhry says over the years Sayed-Khaiyum has been riding rough-shod over workers’ rights and welfare and now he has suddenly woken up to the follies of his policies.
He says public service unions have been denied their collective bargaining rights since 2009 and they have been unable to freely negotiate pay increases and improvements to working conditions of their members for over 13 years.
Chaudhry says Sayed-Khaiyum demoralized the entire civil service by putting staff on contract employment, taking away their job security.
He says instead of building capacity within the civil service, Sayed-Khaiyum has favoured bringing in expatriates to take over senior positions.
The former Prime Minister adds foreign workers have been taking away jobs from our own people and this did not bother the Economy Minister all these years.
He says the workers are not fooled by Sayed-Khaiyum’s sudden show of concern for their wellbeing.
We have sent questions to Sayed-Khaiyum. He is yet to respond.
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