The Fiji Local Government Officers Association (FLGOA) has called on the Sigatoka Town Council to increase their members’ pay to match the rising cost of living.
Association president Rouhit Singh said it was both sad and frustrating that the municipal council administration has not acted in good faith on their working conditions.
Mr Singh said they have yet to receive any feedback from the council on their requests.
“FLGOA has been writing to the council’s acting CEO over the past few months via email and text messages, but to date the council has failed to acknowledge the correspondence,” he said.
“It’s more than six months and the council has failed to proceed with negotiations or acknowledge our concerns.”
Mr Singh said the union would reach out to the Coalition Government if the issue is not resolved.
“The union has once again written to the Board of Special Administrators to intervene and discuss the matter of importance at the earliest.
“If all fails, the union will approach the Ministry of Local Government and the minister to address the same.”
Mr Singh said many workers, both permanent staff and unestablished workers, were on a minimum wage of $4 an hour, which was very low and not practical.
“The union strongly demands that the council come down and negotiate so that issues such as pay rise, annual increment, health and safety issues, contractual employment and terms and conditions as per that collective agreement are discussed.
“We request the council to meet the union at the earliest before we file the matter as an industrial dispute or take strike action as per the provisions of the Employment Relations Act 2007.”
