SODELPA to remove fixed term contracts and return retirement age to 60 years - Rabuka

SODELPA Leader Sitiveni Rabuka has now made it clear that a SODELPA Government will remove the fixed term contracts of civil servants and return the retirement age to 60 years.

Rabuka has made the statement after Attorney General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum answered questions about civil service reforms in parliament.

He says the current short term contracts being given out have created a great loss of morale in the service as civil servants now cannot secure loans for land, housing and other major investments because of the short term nature of these contracts.

He says it is also forcing experienced civil servants to leave the service for outside employment.

Rabuka says SODELPA will also restore trade union and collective bargaining rights for the civil servants.

He says civil servants serve the people of Fiji, and it is the duty of every Government to look after those who serve our people.

Rabuka says the Minister for Economy claims that FijiFirst is the only government that has carried out a review of the civil service based for the first time on a market approach.

However he says that the last two Job Evaluation Reviews in the Civil Service, by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in 1993, and by Mercer in 2003, involved comprehensive and comparative surveys on pay relativity with the external labour market together with consideration of other relevant factors such as qualifications, training, competencies and skills acquired by Government employees, and the requirements of each position.

The SODELPA Leader says salary increments as well as the stopping of Cost of Living Adjustment is a continuing grievance.

The government has maintained that it will continue with the civil service reforms.

Sayed-Khaiyum said in parliament that the bench-marking of the salaries with the private sector has taken place and the pay evaluation for all civil servants is currently underway.

He says government wants to become the employer of choice, and  provide the right environment and training.

Sayed-Khaiyum says they also have the Open Merit Recruitment System in place and the pay evaluation will be done by August this year.