Fiji Sugar Corporation Limited has rejected claims made by Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry.
The Fiji Sugar Corporation Limited has rejected claims made by Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry, alleging that FSC executives are being rewarded with bonus payments.
Chair Nitya Reddy says under the current board, not a single one of FSC’s more than 2,000 employees has received a bonus payment.
He says the board is also unaware of any bonus payments made over the past 10 years.
Reddy says while employees across many sectors in Fiji have received regular annual salary increases, FSC employees received only one five per cent salary increase after a hiatus of nearly five years.
He adds that publicly available records indicate that, under previous boards, senior executives received remuneration approaching $1 million per annum, including salary and benefits, while several other senior executives were also remunerated between approximately $350,000 and $550,000 annually.
The FSC Chair says, given the FSC’s financial position during those years, such levels of remuneration warranted greater public scrutiny.
He says during the same period, more than 2,000 FSC employees were earning between $3 and $4 per hour, with annual incomes of less than $10,000, despite facing significant cost-of-living pressures.
Reddy says at the same time, the corporation’s two highest-paid executives were receiving remuneration almost 100 times greater than that of many of their fellow employees.
He says the current board is committed to ensuring that remuneration practices remain fair, responsible, and aligned with the corporation’s financial position.
Reddy says today the combined remuneration of FSC’s eight-member senior executive management team, including the chief executive officer, is less than the amount previously paid to a single executive during that period.
He says FSC directors receive an annual allowance of $6,500, while the chairman receives an annual allowance of $12,800, and these rates have remained unchanged since 2006.
Reddy says the claim that FSC’s chair receives remuneration in the millions of dollars is entirely false.
He says it is irresponsible to make unfounded allegations that unfairly tarnish the reputation of FSC’s employees and leadership.
