Fifty women civil servants who lost all their retirement benefits accumulated during the years they were unmarried were compensated today.
While handing the cheques Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama says the discriminate treatment had not been corrected since the colonial era and the payouts made today is the beginning of the changes from the old norms.
“This is my Government’s way to right an injustice that was never dealt with. Not even by past governments despite repeated requests by this group of women. And for that, we are committed to amongst other things the removal of archaic laws, rules and barriers that breeds injustice, inequality and hinders our progress as a nation.”
More cheques are expected to be handed out in coming months as the pension office has received about six hundred applications and are still processing it.
