FPSA calls on the government for an increase in civil servants' salaries

The Fiji Public Service Association is calling on the government to consider looking into the civil servants' salaries and welfare as they are highly concerned with how the government has dealt with the Association’s submissions for civil servants' pay rise.

While speaking to fijivillage News, FPSA General Secretary Judith Kotobalavu says unfortunately, the efforts by the public sector unions, in particular by the FPSA to seek salary increases for its members have been constantly sidelined under one pretext or another and the government both past and present have easily relied on draconian clauses of Employment Relations Act of 2007.

Kotobalavu says the Association submitted their log of claims for the issue back in April last year and has had a series of meetings with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Service, and was hoping that in the announcement of the National Budget 2022-2023, there would be an allocation for the increase in salaries for the civil servants but unfortunately, it did not come through.

She says the promise made by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad was that there was going to be a salary review for civil servants' salary structure in 6 to 9 months.

She adds they have written a letter to follow up on that but still have not received any response.

Kotobalavu says they have also had several meetings with the representatives from the Ministry of Civil Service regarding other issues and the information that the Association received is that the processes have not started yet which is really concerning for them.

She says in the current National Budget, the VAT has just been increased and the price of fuel has skyrocketed and this has really affected their members as this is also an increase in the economic burden for them.

Kotobalavu says it has also been brought to their notice that the parliamentarians have voted for an increase in their salaries and allowances and there is a committee that has been appointed to look into that, yet the civil servants are left behind despite the government promising that there will be no one left behind.

She says the log of claims that they have submitted has been referred to arbitration court before it was referred for mediation and the Association is still awaiting a date for the next mediation.

Kotobalavu says the last pay increment for the civil servants was way back in 2017 and they really do need a pay increase now since the cost of living has skyrocketed.

They have also raised serious concerns about the overseas travel by the cabinet ministers and the overseas travell allowances being paid out. They also say at one stage they were told that 9 ministers including the Prime Minister and the 3 Deputy Prime Ministers were out of the country at the same time.