THE Fiji Trade Union Congress (FTUC) says raising workers’ wages is critical to tackling child labour, with the union continuing its campaign for a national minimum wage of $6 an hour and a living wage benchmark of $10.
Speaking during the World Day Against Child Labour commemoration in Suva on Friday FTUC assistant national secretary Jotika Sharma said families needed decent incomes to ensure children remained in school rather than being pushed into work.
“Parents need decent jobs, decent incomes to be able to still provide for their children to get them into schools,” she said.
She said there was widespread confusion among members of the public regarding the FTUC’s minimum wage campaign.
“Our campaign is $6 but in the public, there is a little bit of confusion, people think that $6 has already been legislated, so we have to explain to people that that is the FTUC campaign.”
She said the issue of wages was directly linked to the fight against poverty and child labour, as families struggling to make ends meet were more vulnerable to relying on children for additional income or labour.
Ms Sharma also revealed that the union movement had recently called for a national living wage policy.
“In May this year, at our final delegates conference in Nadi, we made a call for our national living wage policy, and this is set at a benchmark of $10.
“Of course, we understand the rates that are higher above these benchmarks need to be reviewed, as well as the cost-of-living increases on a daily basis.”
Highlighting the pressures facing workers, Ms Sharma said inflation continued to erode household incomes.
“Whether there is war or no war, inflation is there.”
