[Source: Foko Government]

The workers’ unions and members cannot continue to ask for an increase in wages and salaries if they don’t advocate for increased productivity, good work practices, and reduced absenteeism.

This was highlighted by Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad when questioned about the productivity of civil servants, given that the government announced a substantial pay increase effective August 1, 2024.

Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Jerome Kado, during a talanoa session yesterday, pointed out that while there is a dedicated workforce within the civil service, the pace of project implementation and results has been lagging.

Kado emphasized the importance of maximizing the productivity of civil servants to ensure that projects are completed on time and contribute to overall economic growth.

“We’ve got so many projects on the line, and they’re being held up—maybe a hangover in culture. Can we have some comments on how you are looking to improve that in the short to medium term? We really need those projects to move a lot quicker and get them online. In other words, drawing out the productivity value for money from that increase.”

The workers’ unions and members cannot continue to ask for an increase in wages and salaries if they don’t advocate for increased productivity, good work practices, and reduced absenteeism.

This was highlighted by Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad when questioned about the productivity of civil servants, given that the government announced a substantial pay increase effective August 1, 2024.

Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Jerome Kado, during a talanoa session yesterday, pointed out that while there is a dedicated workforce within the civil service, the pace of project implementation and results has been lagging.

Kado emphasized the importance of maximizing the productivity of civil servants to ensure that projects are completed on time and contribute to overall economic growth.

“We’ve got so many projects on the line, and they’re being held up—maybe a hangover in culture. Can we have some comments on how you are looking to improve that in the short to medium term? We really need those projects to move a lot quicker and get them online. In other words, drawing out the productivity value for money from that increase.”

In response, Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad says they are looking at ways to accelerate some of the processes, including the approvals within appropriate policies and laws.

“But we are hoping that raising productivity, one of the variables in raising overall productivity, is really to ensure that the employees are satisfied, they have a basic, decent wage. But raising minimum wages and salaries is also good for the economy.”

Prasad says that the government has provided an environment with a bipartite forum; however, the unions also have a responsibility to support productivity at workplaces.

Prasad says they have also announced a holistic review of the civil service structure to see whether they can rationalize it in a much better way so that it supports efficiency and productivity.