A LARGER civil service does not necessarily mean a bigger government and may instead reflect efforts to fill long-standing vacancies in Fiji’s overstretched frontline services, a union leader says.
Fiji Public Service Association general secretary Judith Kotobalavu said recent attention on the civil service surpassing 42,000 employees risked overlooking whether Fiji had enough skilled public servants where they were needed most.
Ms Kotobalavu said the increase in public sector staffing largely reflected recruitment undertaken since 2016 rather than a sudden expansion of Government.
She said staffing levels alone revealed little about the civil service’s capacity to meet growing public demand.
“Simply increasing staff numbers is not enough,” she said.
“The expansion must be supported by sound workforce planning, competitive remuneration, proper training and adequate resources to ensure improved service delivery.”
Her comments come amid renewed public discussion over the size of Fiji’s civil service and the growing Government wage bill.
Ms Kotobalavu said measuring sustainability by employee numbers alone ignored persistent shortages in key sectors, including healthcare and education, where vacancies continued despite years of recruitment.
She said nursing, allied health and teaching remained under pressure, with unfilled positions increasing workloads for existing staff and affecting service delivery.
“The issue is not the overall size of the public service, but whether there are enough skilled workers in the right areas.”
Ms Kotobalavu said attracting and retaining frontline professionals would require more than recruitment drives, with competitive salaries, better working conditions, career development and long-term workforce planning also critical to reducing vacancies and improving services.
She said investment in essential workers should be recognised as supporting Fiji’s health system, education sector and long-term national development, rather than simply expanding the wage bill.
