Finance Minister Esrom Immanuel says the Government will not reduce civil service salaries despite mounting fiscal pressures, choosing instead to protect public sector workers while continuing targeted cost-of-living support for households and businesses.
Presenting the 2026-2027 National Budget in Parliament, Mr Immanuel said Fiji had endured a series of global economic shocks over the past three and a half years that had significantly increased both household living costs and business operating expenses.
He said the impacts of the post-COVID-19 recovery, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, global tariff disputes and the recent Middle East fuel crisis had all contributed to rising prices.
“Throughout this period, Government has acted decisively to protect households, workers, farmers and businesses.”
Mr Immanuel said previous budgets had introduced a wide range of cost-of-living relief measures and, despite the current fiscal challenges, the Government would maintain those initiatives while introducing additional targeted support in the new Budget.
“Despite the significant fiscal pressures facing Government, we have made some important decisions in this Budget.”
Foremost among those decisions, he said, was the Government’s commitment not to reduce the salaries of public servants.
“There will be no reduction in civil service salaries.”
Mr Immanuel said teachers, nurses, doctors, police officers, military personnel and other public servants played an essential role in delivering services throughout Fiji.
He noted that approximately 42,000 public servants directly supported the livelihoods of more than 200,000 Fijians.
“While Government has implemented expenditure restraint measures across the public sector, we have deliberately chosen not to reduce the salaries of our civil servants.”
The Finance Minister said the Coalition Government had instead strengthened the civil service over the past three years through improved remuneration, permanent employment arrangements and increasing the compulsory retirement age to 60 years.
He said civil servants had received cumulative salary increases ranging from 10 per cent to 23 per cent over the past three years, representing an additional annual Government investment of $115 million after public sector wages had remained largely stagnant since 2017.
