Litia Cava 
The Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation is calling for a clear legal and technical framework to guide wage setting in Fiji.
The call comes after Cabinet approved a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage and the 10 sectoral minimum wages.
FCEF CEO Edward Bernard states Fiji does not have a minimum wage council to allow for tripartite discussions.
He said there was also no wage policy or set criteria to ensure wages are determined transparently and based on evidence.
Bernard says this has already put the Ministry of Employment in breach of the Employment Relations Act.
He points to Section 264(W), which requires the Minister to establish criteria for wage setting.
Bernard said the national minimum wage was increased by 11.1 percent last year, from $4.50 to $5 an hour, without established criteria or tripartite discussions.
He says the data and evidence used in the process were also not disclosed, with the final report submitted by consultants to the Ministry before a decision was made.
FCEF said it was encouraged that the government plans to consider wage trends, labour market and economic conditions, as well as productivity, in the upcoming reviews.
Bernard states remittances and government social protection benefits should also be considered.
He adds that Fiji’s wage levels were discussed at an International Labour Organisation workshop in June, where Fiji was found to have higher mean and median wages than 16 countries outside the Pacific.
FCEF says it has also written to the Permanent Secretary for Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations Maritino Nemani calling for the technical and legal work needed to ratify ILO Convention 131 on minimum wage setting.
