In Solomon Islands, the timing of the recent pay rise awarded to public servants and members of parliament has come under fire.
The Governor of the Central Bank , Rick Hou, says public servants and members of parliament deserve a pay rise but it is not right at this point because government finances and the overall economy are still recovering.
Mr. Hou says the government being the largest employer, will put undue pressure on other employers to follow the same path especially the struggling private sector who are the driving force of the economy.
He says such pay increases will the force the private sector to unnecessarily increase their costs of production simply to meet employees demands for a wage rise.
Mr. Hou warned that in difficult times like this employers and in this matter the government must rationalize between increasing salaries and avoiding job creation or keep to the current salary level and create more employment opportunities for the jobless.
