Consultants appointed to review minimum wage

The Fiji Government through the Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations has appointed consultants to conduct a comprehensive review of the National Minimum Wage and the ten sectoral wages this week.

The Ministry has appointed Professor Anand Chand (FNU) as Team Leader and the other consultants are Dr Janesh Sami (Lecturer of Economics, USP), Dr Jone Lako (USP) and Dr Maureen Fatiaki Karan (USP), who will be engaged for the duration of 7 weeks.

The signing ceremony formalising the appointment took place between the Permanent Secretary for Employment, Maritino Nemani and the consultants.

Nemani thanked the consultants and expressed gratitude to them for coming forward and expressing their interest in assisting the Fiji government in carrying out the review of the minimum wage.

“We appreciate your independence and the integrity that you bring to the work that is going to be undertaken.”

“The Ministry again would like to acknowledge and show its appreciation towards your efforts that will be put into this national agenda in ensuring that we have a robust outcome of the national minimum wage review.”

Team Leader Professor Chand further highlighted that the team will undertake a very thorough and robust review in determining a decent minimum wage for sustainable economic growth.

Minister for Employment, Agni Deo Singh pointed out that this review is a significant step towards ensuring fair and equitable remuneration practices and is in line with international labour standards and best practices.

“The Consultants will be working closely with relevant stakeholders including government, employers and workers’ representatives to gather data necessary for a thorough assessment of current wage structures.

“We’re confident that the expertise and dedication of the Consultants will greatly benefit this important review initiative.”

“We look forward to their valuable insights and recommendations that will emerge from this collaborative effort,” said Minister Singh.

The ultimate goal is to promote decent work principles, support the well-being of workers and contribute to sustainable economic growth.