The Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC) has fiercely rejected employer demands for a complete wage freeze, accusing corporate leaders of “endless consultations” to stall financial relief while thousands of families sink below the poverty line.
The union’s fiery backlash follows an official statement from Fiji Commerce & Employers Federation (FCEF) chief executive officer Edward Bernard, who called for a total halt on minimum wage increases or the introduction of a new living wage system.
Mr Bernard argued any new wage system must be “carefully balanced against existing wage systems and economic realities”.
Citing a recent workshop organised by the International Labour Organization (ILO), he claimed Fiji’s current process lacked transparent consultation and a formal wage-setting criteria, potentially placing the country in breach of ILO Convention 131.
The FCEF statement also highlighted that Fiji’s median wage of $US477 a month was higher than 13 countries in the Asian region, urging the State to freeze wages to prioritise business growth in the upcoming 2026/2027 national budget.
“Until the current wage setting system is fixed, there should not be any increase in minimum wage or introduction of living wage in Fiji,” Mr Bernard said.
However, the FTUC slammed the proposal as a calculated stalling tactic designed to trap workers in poverty.
“The wage freeze until ‘structural gaps’ are fixed is simply to delay implementation of a review of the minimum wage,” FTUC national secretary Felix Anthony told this newspaper.
“The idea is to get into an endless consultation on wage setting and structures. Workers cannot wait another year or two for a review.”
Mr Anthony also dismissed FCEF’s demand for an “evidence-based” system as a distraction, pointing out that FCEF historically accepted top-down minimum wages of $2.68 and $4 under the previous government without demanding transparent consultations.
He said “once the wage levels are set at a living wage level, all this fancy talk about evidence-based wage-fixing criteria has no meaning to workers”, and added skyrocketing inflation had outpaced wages.
“It is no secret that the cost of living has gone well beyond the ability of workers to put decent food on the table.”
Mr Anthony said the proposed freeze directly threatened ununionised workers who had no collective bargaining power and were left entirely “at the mercy of a regulated minimum wage”.
“If employers want greater productivity and to retain skills, they need to understand that wages need to be increased to levels that ensure dignity at work, and that workers are not burdened by their inability to provide a decent living for their families.”
