The staff of Ashabhai and Company Private Limited have rallied in support of a strike to express their grievances on several unresolved issues.

In response, Ashabhai and Company Private Limited says that they have seriously considered the allegations by its staff involved in the protest.

This morning, the staff gathered outside the company’s headquarters at Karsanji Street in Suva.

Employee, Asaeli Nasedra claims that the company has not adjusted their wage rate, despite the increase in the national minimum wage effective from this month.

He alleges that majority of the employees have unpaid meal allowance and overtime, and they would have to be fed peanuts to alternate the meal allowance.

Nasedra claims the employees voices are silenced whenever they would raise an issue.

“This is what’s been happening for some of us has been working here for seven years some of us has been working here for 15 years and the company never did anything for us again some people are at the back of me are working inside the cooler and the company never pay the allowance for the cooler like for the years.”

Taniela Lockington shared similar sentiments, saying that they have run out of patience as their plight has fallen on deaf ears.

“Last week, I could recall I asked our manager about overtime and he chased me home he chased me home he chased me home I asked him last week he came for he came with the issue of why we didn’t work overtime and I asked him we were paid eight to eight to five which is normal and he chased me home the manager chased me home so can’t do much.”

Ashabhai says it acknowledges the rights of its staff to voice their concerns and says as they always strive to maintain an open dialogue in their workforce.

It says they are committed to fair compensation, but the staff have misunderstood the application of the current revision of the national minimum wage.

Ashabhai adds they ensure that meal allowance and overtime are paid in accordance with the terms of employment, and are conducting an internal review to verify the claims about payments and any rectify any discrepancies.

It further says that the safety of its employees is of utmost importance, and they are investigating the allegations about transportation and will undertake appropriate measures to ensure they meet safety standards.

The company says it is committed to transparently resolving the issues.