27 Apr 2009

Fiji social services say forced retirement of civil servants traumatic for many

3:32 pm on 27 April 2009

Many of the thousands of civil servants in Fiji who are being forced to retire this week are likely to struggle with the sudden change.

A Presidential decree after the constitution was abrogated forced through plans to reduce the compulsory retirement age to 55.

The Director of Fiji's Council of Social Services, Hassan Khan, says a great number of those ending their working lives will have paid into a pension fund.

But he says many will find the sudden move difficult to cope with:

"People are going to be affected in many different ways, most of them adversely, the fact that they've become redundant or that you don't have a job anymore and these things are traumatic experiences."

Hassan Khan says there are no guidance or counselling services in Fiji for people who are struggling to cope.