NFP says the fact that Govt has undertaken the review of the National Minimum Wage in an election year proves its intention of politicking

National Federation Party Leader, Professor Biman Prasad says the fact that Government has suddenly undertaken the review of the National Minimum Wage in an election year proves its intention of politicking because it did absolutely nothing in the last 4 years while Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum had earlier said it is an appropriate time to review the wages and salaries due to inflation and costs being passed down to the people.

Consultations are underway on the proposal to increase the National Minimum Wage Rate from $2.68 per hour to between $3.45 to $3.65 per hour.

Prasad says why has the Attorney General and Minister for Economy gone underground when the Textile Clothing and Footwear Industry Council which the Minister used to attack their $5 an hour minimum living wage in 2018 has now shot down Government’s proposed minimum wage hike.

The NFP Leader says in the middle of the review, the textile clothing and footwear industry are now vigorously opposed to even a modest rise.

He says this cabal of businessmen who opposed their proposal in 2018 when the so called Bainimarama Boom was in its 9th year, are now in a panic mode.

Prasad says as early as March 14th 2018, the Economy Minister, during a ministerial statement in Parliament, was parroting half-truths about increasing the minimum wage saying the Opposition was politicising the issue and didn’t know what it was talking about.

Sayed-Khaiyum had said in Parliament in 2018 that these numbers appear to be plucked out of thin air to gain political mileage and lure ordinary Fijians and such promises will actually harm ordinary Fijians and disrupt businesses and the economy and put people out of jobs and diminish job creation.

Prasad further says 4 years later, the Minister’s ally, who acted as his proxy back then, is totally opposed to the review and the Minister’s silence is deafening.

He is also asking if the Economy Minister can visit the workplaces of the textile clothing and footwear industry and tell the workers to support his review, just as he did in 2018 telling workers not to endorse NFP’s proposal because it could lead to loss of their employment.

The NFP Leader says this is the gutter-level kind of politics that was used in 2018 and now, in a case of what goes around comes around, the Minister is totally silent and oblivious to what his business friends are saying.

Prasad says the FijiFirst government, especially the Economy Minister are being hoisted by their own petard in this electioneering façade but the reality of the matter is the die has been cast and this government’s 15 years of riding roughshod over people’s mandate and democracy is coming to an end.

The Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum had earlier said the last review was done in 2018 and it was supposed to be done every two years.

He had said COVID-19 came along and a review could not be done earlier.

The Minister is yet to respond to further questions sent by fijivillage.