COVID-19

No pay cuts for civil servants as MPs take 20 percent pay cut

March 26, 2020 11:30 pm

Government will not implement pay cuts for any civil servants says Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.

The Government will not implement pay cuts for civil servants says Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.

Instead, it will be Members of Parliament who will have their pay decreased by 20 percent.

He  announced this while delivering the COVID-19 response budget yesterday.

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Sayed-Khaiyum says this will be in place for the next six months.

“The cost-saving for this move adds up to about $400,000, an amount that may not seem monumental but importantly Mr Speaker Sir, shows that we lead from the front and everyone must share the burden. Because the reality is in the coming months, many ordinary Fijians may see their hours and pay cut as well and we as elected members must be the first.”

Sayed-Khaiyum says even if it means cutting civil servants and statutory body staff’s salary by 10 percent, it would mean over $150 million in savings, this will be unfair and also mean less of this money in our economy.

“We must understand the impact of it. You will be sucking out $150 million from the economy, $150 million will be less spent in the economy. Do we want that at this point in time? No.”

He says the government needs to understand the plight of its people before taking drastic action like pay cuts.

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