Fiji Leads The Way With

National Insurance

From a Suva Correspondent The most interesting piece of legislation that came before Fiji’s Legislative Council in the session that commenced on May 24 was the National Provident Fund Bill. Nothing of this sort has been attempted in any Pacific Islands territory be fore, because societies based on native land ownership are usually able to take care of their own social services.

with its preponderance of * Indian people who are not land owners and who do not have the village community to fall back on as a final resort, is in a special position. In addition more and more Fijians are leaving the villages for industry. However, with Fiji’s very mixed community at its present stage of development any social service legislation of the sort now before the council has a lot of in-built problems.

The legislation is based on the Ashford Report and it is understood that the same sort of scheme has been in operation in Nigeria, Malaya and Singapore for some time.

Mr. J. E. Ashford, of the UK Ministry of Pensions, visited Fiji in 1964 and made a survey of condi tions. He believed it was too soon to have the womb-to-tomb sort of social services that they have in Britain, but not too soon to have an old-age pension scheme, although le recognised some of the difficulties.

The scheme is based on a proposed :ontribution of 5 per cent, of

wages and a similar contribution from employers paid into a fund, At 55 the employee may withdraw the sum that has accumulated, plus cumulative interest, or he has the option of leaving it there for a further period, i * , tbe ~1 1 n if i a spasmodic workers will be excluded from the sd ? er ? e - It is provided also that any P nvate employer who had a pension or Provident scheme m existence before July 1, 1965, which is ap- Droved hv the nn tn

“s i&srird ss

*1" noTbf liab^lrcontribute!

(Neither will his employees).

TmucLhc iranSterS FOSSIDIe if 0 „ u , , t^ P ° y C - W ?° h u S beei l COn ‘ h > iob ,he employer’s 8 SrZtion"”^?^! ferred to the national fund, Most Fiji people think that the

scheme is a good one but many don’t like some aspects of it. One obvious practical difficulty is in adequately covering the people who, throughout their working lives, do work spas modically; and of assessing just who is a spasmodic worker and who is not.

But most of the criticism has come from the fact that at 55 many people who have never in their lives had more than £2O all at once in a lump sum may find themselves suddenly with anything up to £l,OOO. It is not in the Fijian nature to be pro vident to this extent and what will probably happen is that for many of these people, most of the “old age benefit” will be dissipated in an orgy of frivolous spending.

Retiring Age Too Low?

Moreover, not even in Fiji do people stop working at 55. The Ashford Report, in fact, recom mended 60 as the age when the benefit could be collected, but the Fiji Government changed the age to 55. Apparently this was in the belief that people should have their period of affluence before they are too old to enjoy it.

What is more likely to happen, if the bill goes through unamended, is that, having spent their dividend from the fund, many will still need family or village support in their old age.

It would have been far soundei social legislation if the retiring age from the fund had been left at 60 and if benefits had come in the form of a weekly pension and not as a lunv sum.

Footnote : Debate on this bill was still continuing when this issue went to press.

Too Much Interest

In Submarines

Exercising with US and RAAF aircraft in the Coral Sea recently have been these two Royal Navy submarines, Taciturn and Tabard.

The submarines also showed the flag at various New Guinea ports.

In Rabaul (where this photo graph was taken) and in Port Moresby the crowds of natives who attempted to inspect them got out of hand and the police had to be called. In Rabaul three natives were pushed off the wharf.

The submarines have been on loan to the RAN.