National Federation Party MP, Lenora Qereqeretabua’s motion in Parliament to give frontliners a risk pay and increase it from $497,000 to $1 million has been defeated in Parliament.
While speaking on the motion, Qereqeretabua says many of them have been separated from their families for months on end and this is her reason to increase personal emoluments in regards to risk pay for our frontliners.
She adds there are also other frontliners like police men and women, firemen and women, those in the armed forces that would really be able to have some financial security from having a risk pay added to their salaries.
NFP President, Pio Tikoduadua, while speaking in support of the motion says we should give more to our health workers, soldiers and police officers who stand up there every night when we are asleep.
He says they do not have to be worrying about their family in the meantime because they would be looked after by additional allowances that they will be given.
Attorney General and Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says this is a political stunt and they should have raised the matter yesterday when Parliament was discussing the budget for RFMF and the Police.
He says this is more like an after thought.
Sayed-Khaiyum says the reality of the matter is that the frontliners are getting meal allowances and their pay has not been cut.
The Minister says at the moment we do not have the capacity to be able to give anything more than what they are currently getting.
He says there is no denying that they want to be able to reward them and if everybody gets vaccinated, the economy picks up and we have the ability to go back and help people and will then perhaps reward them financially, if they have the capacity.
Sayed-Khaiyum also highlighted that Qereqeretabua is on the wrong section of the budget as they were currently on the section about the pay for 17 administrative staff who implement public health policies and receive a total of $497,000 and not frontliners.
