10 Aug 2007

Fiji public servants may have further pay cuts

5:52 pm on 10 August 2007

The Fiji interim government has warned that public servants may face further pay cuts given the current economic situation.

The interim Public Service Minister, Poseci Bune, has told the Fijilive that this is inevitable.

Mr Bune says the interim government cannot sustain the cost of public service strikes occurring again.

His comments come as four public sector unions end their strike over cost-cutting measures imposed by the interim government.

Executives of the Public Employees Union and the Viti National Taukei Workers Union have expressed concern that the Public Service Commission had declined a written promise that their workers will not face further pay cuts before the next election.

Mr Bune says it's hard to predict that there will be no pay cuts as the interim government is starting from scratch.

He says people should realise that the government has no money at the moment and cannot meet the demands of the public servants.