The Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC) has strongly criticised the 2026-2027 National Budget, describing it as a disappointing package that fails to provide meaningful relief for workers grappling with the rising cost of living.
FTUC National Secretary Felix Anthony said the Budget placed greater emphasis on supporting businesses while offering no new measures to improve the financial wellbeing of workers and their families.
“The Budget offers no new relief for workers in light of the increase in cost of living. Instead, more attention has been given to businesses,” Anthony said.
He criticised the Government for not increasing the national minimum wage, saying workers needed immediate assistance rather than further consultations.
“There has been no increase in minimum wage but instead $100,000 has been allocated for further consultations next year. This is not acceptable by workers. Workers needed relief immediately just as business needed relief to deal with the raise in cost of fuel,” he said.
Anthony also condemned the Government’s decision to reduce Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) contributions by two percentage points, arguing the move benefits employers at the expense of employees.
“The FTUC condemns Government’s decision to reduce FNPF by 2%. This again works for employers and basically means that there has been a 2% pay cut for all workers. Government alone stands to save around $30 million with this cut, while workers collectively stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said.
He said the reduction comes at a time when many workers are already struggling with the high cost of living.
Anthony further accused the Government of failing to honour its commitment to compensate former Water Authority of Fiji employees who lost their jobs in 2019.
“Government has once again reneged on its promise to compensate workers who were terminated by WAF in 2019. This is despite the then Minister of Finance announcing it in the 2024-2025 Budget that these workers would be compensated. It is a show of bad faith on the part of this Government,” he said.
While acknowledging the Budget’s investment in infrastructure, Anthony argued that the overall package overwhelmingly favours state-owned enterprises and the private sector.
“While the FTUC welcomes the investments in infrastructure, the Budget is heavily in favour of Government-owned enterprises and the private sector. It offers no relief to workers and their families,” he said.
Anthony added that maintaining existing assistance programmes and tax settings could not be considered new support for workers.
“We cannot rely on assistance previously given as assistance for the future. Circumstances have changed and more needs to be done. Overall, it’s been a disappointing budget for workers,” he said.
