The garment industry

The government is now undertaking a comprehensive review of hourly wage rates.

The aim is to determine wide-reaching pay rises, including the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and across the 10 sectoral wages that already stand above the NMW.

This include the printing trades; wholesale & retail trades; hotel & catering trades; garment industry; sawmilling & logging industry; road transport, building & civil & electrical engineering trades; manufacturing industry; mining & quarrying industry; and security services.

The review was first announced in the 2018-2019 National Budget address by Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.

The Attorney-General stressed that the vast majority of Fijians earning hourly wages have been excluded from discourse among Fijian politicians, but the government was focused on wage rises across the board, from the NMW throughout all of the ten sectoral wages.

The government will be using international experts to oversee the review, which will include nationwide consultations with both workers and employers, as well as input from the International Labour Organization.

The 10 sectoral wages will each be examined separately to determine their respective rises.

The review will be led by newly-appointed Minister for Employment, Productivity & Industrial Relations, Parveen Kumar.

The Ministry for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations will soon announce the relevant details for the nationwide consultation process and encourage employees and employers to work closely with the Ministry to ensure the review is as inclusive, fair and informed as possible.