Minimum wage to increase to $4 an hour in four tranches

Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has announced they will increase the minimum wage to $4 an hour in four stages from its current level of $2.68.

While announcing the Revised Budget, Sayed-Khaiyum says from 1st April, 2022 the minimum wage will be starting from $3.01.

From 1st July it will start from $3.34 an hour, from 1st October it will start from $3.67 an hour while from 1st January 2023 it will be $4 an hour.

Sayed-Khaiyum further says for all the other 10 sectors, the minimum wage rate will also rise in tandem with new rates and topped up by the relative difference between the current national minimum wage rate and the sectoral wages.

He adds the current classification for the 10 sectors is decades-old and does not reflect the modern economy.

Sayed-Khaiyum says they have to recognise these shifts and align sectoral wages with market realities to ensure that people are paid just wages for the jobs they perform.

Meanwhile, for the next 3 years, the Government will provide, a 200% tax deduction to those employers who will be paying maternity leave for their staff, for the sake of the mothers of Fiji.

Click to read: 2021-2022 Revised Budget Estimates

Click to read: 2021-2022 Revised Budget Supplement