[Photo: BOSE VAVATAGA]
Support for a national living wage is growing within Cabinet, with Information Minister Lynda Tabuya backing the Fiji Trades Union Congress campaign for better worker pay.
Speaking at the Trade Union Leaders Planning Symposium in Nadi today, Tabuya said she would not lose her job for supporting the call. She said a majority of the Cabinet also supported it.
“I thought about it carefully. And I will say to you what I will say in the cabinet. This must happen. Whatever the call is tomorrow, Felix (Anthony – FTUC national secretary), please know I will fully support it. Thank you. It is high time. And it takes political will. I know that. And yes, there’s no more to say but to say that it is overdue and it is high time. We can skirt around the issue. We can talk about other subsidies. We can talk about tax breaks for employers. Anything but the worker. But it cannot be avoided. It must be done.”
Tabuya said unions had already succeeded in pushing for a higher minimum wage. She urged them to keep fighting for a national living wage.
She said the union movement had shown it could bring change through strong advocacy.
FTUC National Secretary Felix Anthony said workers could not be expected to improve productivity while earning wages below the poverty line.
Anthony said the fight for a higher minimum wage remained a key priority for unions. He said workers deserved fair pay, better conditions, and dignity at work.
