The Parliament of the Republic of Fiji. Source: Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
The approval of a bill in parliament that increased salaries for Fiji’s high-ranking government officials drew strong objections from opposition leaders and civil society groups.
Based on the bill approved on May 24, the president’s salary will increase from $130,000 (58,300 USD) to $185,000 (83,000 USD). The parliament speaker will receive a pay increase from $150,000 (67,300 USD) to $220,000 (98,700 USD). Higher salaries were also approved for assistant ministers, ministers, leader of the opposition, and members of parliament. Proponents of the bill explained that salary adjustments were last made in 2014.
The approval of the bill was instantly questioned by some opposition leaders who pointed out the lack of public consultation and failure to follow legal procedures for setting higher wages for officials. Labour leader Mahendra Chaudhry also accused the ruling party of reneging on its campaign pledge to prioritize the legislation of a fair minimum wage for workers, saying:
This is policy-making at its most self-indulgent without consideration to its detrimental impact on the people of Fiji. While the general population has to endure austerity measures in depressed economic conditions, Ministers are queuing up for pay increases.
Former civil servant and former military officer Josateki Labadai Turaga urged legislators to “come to the grassroot level and understand the daily problems and struggles of ordinary Fijians.” This sentiment was echoed by former politician Parmod Chand in a media interview:
We should have looked at the civil servants, then the workers and the minimum wage rate first. We have a lot of professionals and educated people leaving our shores for greener pastures.
The Fiji Teachers Union is considering holding a mass action to protest parliament's prioritization of a salary increase for officials over addressing the wage hike demand of the labor sector. The 𝐍𝐆𝐎 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 described the approval of the bill as “shameful:
It is absolutely shameful that only seven parliamentarians voted against the motion while five abstained. We would like to tell the 40 parliamentarians that supported the motion to listen to the voters because as public opinion displayed this week – the majority of Fijians do not agree with you.
Where is the same level of urgency for issues impacting our nation such as poverty, violence against women and girls, drug use, high rates of HIV cases, food insecurity, climate change and unfair wages for workers.
Social Empowerment and Education Program (SEEP) asserted that legislators should focus on other urgent social concerns:
This raise is shameful and we stress that an independent body should determine MPs’ salaries and NOT themselves. We re-emphasize that urgent national issues like poverty, healthcare, and education need prioritization over politicians’ pay hikes.
Fred Wesley wrote an editorial for The Fiji Times underscoring the need for transparency.
We have a delicate situation. Sceptics will wonder about what is fair compensation against the financial strain this places on taxpayers.
Let’s face it. There are economic challenges, and this increase will no doubt be seen as an insensitive one.
For what it is worth, what we have now is a situation that raises the importance of transparency and public trust in government decisions.
The prime minister confirmed that the approval of the bill will lead to adjustments in the government’s budget program. He assured the public that the matter would be seriously studied, including the impact of the salary hike on the country’s fiscal situation.
Written by Mong Palatino
This post originally appeared on Global Voices.
