The first ever National Minimum Wage in Fiji was announced by the Minister for Labour, Mr Jone Usamate last Wednsday.
Former wages council chairman and poverty alleviation advocate Fr Kevin Barr has welcomed the Fiji government’s announcement that the country’s minimum wage rate at has been set at $2 per hour. However he thinks it it should be closer to $4.00.
In a Statement Barr said:
- The new rate would cover about 20 per cent of Fiji’s working population, those not covered by unions or wages councils.
- The $2 per hour rate would benefit domestic workers, gardeners and farmers.
- The national minimum wage should be measured against the national poverty line which would be around $190 a week. This would mean that the national minimum wage should be around $4 to $4.20 an hour.
Both unions and employers also thing it’s too low for people to live on.
But Usamate says some workers have actually been earning less, and he expects the minimum wage will eventually rise.
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