Acting PM says job evaluation will continue in the civil service while FPSA wants 15% pay rise across the board

The government has made necessary comparisons that has given them a good indication of where they are and where they want to be in terms of job evaluations in the civil service.

Acting Prime Minister and Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has also highlighted that some like the Fiji Public Service Association had said that government does not want to look after its staff and is not concerned as the association had asked for a 15 percent pay rise across the board.

Sayed-Khaiyum says that this shows the point that some miss that by having an across the board 15 percent pay rise, you are not recognising the different skill sets that may have different salary scales.

While Sayed-Khaiyum has made it clear that civil servants will get pay increments based on this exercise and the skill sets required, Fiji Public Service Association General Secretary Rajeshwar Singh still maintains that they want the 15 percent pay rise across the board on top of the job evaluation exercise.

Singh says the Confederation of Public Sector Unions which consists of members from the FPSA, Fijian Teachers Association, Fiji Teachers Union, Fiji Nurses Association and Viti Civil Servants Association, have also filed a 15 percent across the board pay rise claim with the Arbitration Court.

Singh says they are waiting for the dispute for the 15 percent pay rise for 2016, to be heard by the Arbitration Court.

When questioned on the justification of the claims for the 15 percent across the board pay rise for civil servants for 2016 and why ask for across the board increment, Singh said that he will provide a list to us later.

Meanwhile Sayed-Khaiyum also highlighted that the role of Job Evaluation Trainers is to moderate and ensure consistency across the civil service and government wants to ensure that the job evaluation exercise will continue.

Sayed-Khaiyum says the system must have the ability to recognize the people even within the same profession, and this then encourages specialisation and growth.