The National Minimum Wage review was undertaken to ensure the Government continued to work in the best interests of all Fijian workers and employers, says Minister for Employment, Productivity, Industrial Relations, Youth and Sports Parveen Kumar.

During the debate on the 2021-2022 Appropriation Bill 2022 in Parliament last week, he said the NMW was a step in the right direction to ensure that both workers’ and employers’ interests were taken into consideration to have a balanced approach.

“The national minimum wage of $2 per hour was implemented on March 1, 2014 by the FijiFirst Government and later reviewed and implemented in 2015 within a span of one and a half years,” Mr Kumar said.

“The new wage rate of $2.32 came into force on July 1, 2015, which also included the review of the 10 sectoral-based minimum wages.

“The national minimum wage and the 10 sectoral-based minimum wage was again reviewed in 2017 through a nationwide survey with the assistance of an international consultant Professor Partha Gangopandhyay and the current $2.68 per hour of work was implemented on September 30, 2017.”

Mr Kumar said his ministry continued to work on the review with the consultant in 2018 and 2019.

Mr Kumar said the NMW and the sectoral-based minimum wage would provide the framework and timeframe for employers and workers in ensuring there was a uniform approach for the implementation of the NMW.