The Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation says Fiji already has mechanisms in place to adjust wages against inflation, arguing that calls for a separate living wage system are unnecessary and could place further strain on the country’s labour administration framework.
FCEF chief executive officer Edward Bernard said the organisation supported genuine labour initiatives that improved workers’ living standards while also protecting enterprise sustainability and economic prosperity.
“However, demanding for a living wage that adjusts to inflation, when a system already exists, is not good faith on FTUC,” Mr Bernard said.
He said Fiji’s existing Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) system allowed employers and unions to negotiate wage increases linked to inflation through collective agreements.
Mr Bernard pointed to a recent agreement between the Ba Town Council and the National Union of Workers, where a 12.5 per cent wage increase was negotiated earlier this year based on COLA.
“This is an indication that the current system of adjusting wages against inflation is available and working,” he said.
“In some collective agreements, the COLA adjustments are locked in. For a small country like Fiji, having parallel systems is not going to improve our labour administration system.”
Mr Bernard said the focus should instead be on strengthening existing arrangements, particularly during the current economic climate.
He also referenced a 2023 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report, which stated that living wages were not a “silver bullet” to addressing in-work poverty, noting that underemployment was often a bigger issue than low pay.
The FCEF chief said initiatives such as up-skilling and re-skilling workers could help improve wages while addressing Fiji’s productivity challenges.
“Supporting initiatives such as up-skilling and re-skilling of workers can result in increased wages for workers and close the huge pay-productivity gap that exists in Fiji,” he said.
Mr Bernard added that setting a living wage was complex because it would require considering family size, household income earners and increased compliance monitoring.
He warned that this could place additional pressure on Government resources, particularly if labour compliance systems had to extend to the household level.
The Federation also noted that many organisations already had performance management systems allowing workers to receive salary increments and bonuses tied to key performance indicators.
Mr Bernard further highlighted the contribution of remittances, saying the estimated $1.4 billion in remittance inflows had also helped increase household incomes.
FCEF has backed Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s position that wage reviews should remain structured, transparent and informed by economic realities, cost-of-living considerations and balanced consultation.
