FIJI should consider bringing in labourers from abroad to address labour shortage issues in the country.
This was part of a submission by Sigatoka businessman Sesha Reddy during the 2017-2018 National Budget Consultation in Sigatoka yesterday.
“My wife and I have a business and we pay way above the minimum wage and yet we still have a difficult time getting labourers,” he said
“Now how can Fiji prosper when we can’t get workers?
“If we want to be like New Zealand or Singapore then we have to look at bringing labourers here. Our people here, for some reason, don’t want to work, that’s a fact.”
In response Acting Prime Minister and Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said Fiji was developing a workforce that would address labour issues in the country.
“There is no doubt that we do have a shortage of highly-skilled labourers,” he said.
“There are some construction companies bringing in highly-skilled workers from Indonesia and Bangladesh because we don’t have that level of skill in the country.”
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said during discussions with the head teacher of a vocational school, he was informed that students who went out for practical experience sometimes never returned to complete their study.
“Because they are so good and because there’s a shortage, they get snapped up very quickly.”
