A Forty-Four Hour Week

Fiji's PWD is to Have A Forty-Four Hour Week —And Bonus Rates

THE working week for Public Works Department employees in Fiji is to be reduced from 48 hours to 44. without loss of pay. Eight hours a day will be worked on five days a week and four hours on Saturday. The reduction will take effect as soon as the necessary arrangements can be made.

The question of reducing working hours in the Public Works Department was raised by representatives of the workers two years ago following a reduction in hours of work by a number of Suva employers, and references were made later in Legislative Council and in the House of Commons. Recently the ques tion has been the subject of negotiation between the Public Works Department Union and Government.

When communicating to the Union the decision*- regarding the 44-hour week Government stressed the importance of increasing output. Union officials ex pressed the Union’s gratitude for the improvement in bonus rates and work ing hours, and for the prompt manner in which their requests had been dealt with. They undertook to use their in fluence with members of the Union to achieve the desired improvement in output.

New Bonus Rates for Government

Wage Workers

ANEW- bonus scale for wage employees of the Government of Fiji, to take effect from January 1, 1947, has been approved. The new scale has been fixed in consequence of the sharp rise in the cost of living index of Indian work men during the fourth quarter of 1946 (89 per cent, increase on 1939 figures), and of representations from the Public Works Department Employees’ Union.

The bonus scale now approved adopts the principle that the labourer on a basic, or 1939, rate of 2/6 a day should be fully compensated for the 89 per cent, rise in the cost of living and that the worker on a basic rate of 25/- should bear half the increased burden and Gov ernment the other half.

It has been decided that between these two points the proportion borne by the Government should diminish at a constant rate.

It has been further decided to tie the bonus to the Cost of Liying Index, in creasing or decreasing the bonus with every rise or fall of 10 points or more in the Index figure. —From Fiji Public Relations Office Bulle tins