5 year term contracts for civil servants does not mean there is insecurity of employment – Acting PM

Acting Prime Minister and Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says 5 year term contracts for civil servants does not mean that there is insecurity of employment.

While speaking to nurses and other interested civil servants at Vunimono Hall today, Sayed-Khaiyum says the government’s stand is that people should be appointed on merit and no one can just terminate the contract of civil servants without going through the disciplinary guidelines and natural justice provisions. 

Sayed-Khaiyum says if civil servants believe that they did not get a fair decision, they can always go to the Employment Tribunal and the High Court.

He says 70% of the civil servants are already on term contracts.

Sayed-Khaiyum says they are currently trying to get everyone’s base salary right and they will then continue with the performance based pay increments.

He says the civil servants  will be individually assessed and the high performers will get a higher pay rise.

Sayed-Khaiyum stresses that it won’t be the same across the board pay increment for all civil servants as it will be performance based.

The Acting Prime Minister has also made it clear that those civil servants who do not sign the term employment contracts will not get the pay increments announced in the National Budget.

Sayed-Khaiyum says when he held discussions with the unions, Fiji Public Service Association General Secretary Rajeshwar Singh said that they want an across the board pay rise of 15%.

He says that he did not agree with the idea as the government’s stand is that pay increments should be performance based.