Workers’ productivity and attitude continue to be a concern for employers and workplaces across the country.

This issue was highlighted by the Minister for Employment, Agni Deo Singh, during a panel discussion on the skills shortage held in Labasa, who emphasized that addressing productivity will require skills training, performance enhancement, and salary upgrades.

He says that while the skills shortage remains a pressing issue, workers’ productivity and attitudes should also be prioritized, which is one of the key areas the Ministry is focused on, with significant work yet to be achieved.

“I know one employer was actually paying half the wages on Friday and the other half on Monday. When I got the complaint, I asked him why he was doing that, and he told me, Most of us, most of us are all related; if I pay them all the money on, all the full wages on Friday, none of them will get a full job on Monday.”

President of the Labasa Chamber of Commerce, Vinesh Dayal, also shared his views on addressing the skills gap in Fiji, which will require collaboration between all stakeholders and employers on the best suitable solutions and objectives.

“So we might just need to, instead of looking at degree and long-term prior experience for work, we need to look at more functional demands, concentrating on the attitudes, the sub-skills, and in-house capacity training and buildings, which definitely will attract a lot of those who may not have the formal education for employment. So, let us address this with a better enhanced training system.”

Meanwhile, Fiji currently chairs the Asian Productivity Organization and will be hosting the heads of the National Productivity Center Conference in Nadi on October 23rd to 25th.

This will be an opportunity for heads of productivity to share their best practices, which countries in Asia Pacific can learn from.