The Government has suspended overtime payments for civil servants as part of cost-cutting measures introduced during the ongoing fuel emergency, a move confirmed in a circular from the Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, Pita Tagicakirewa. The circular, issued on April 14, makes the suspension effective retroactively from April 8, the date the Prime Minister announced the measure in a national address.
The directive specifies that “the payment of overtime is suspended for all eligible officers and government wage earners” and instead allows eligible staff to claim time off in lieu (TOIL) for hours worked outside normal schedules. The circular names employees on salary Band E and nurses on Band F among those eligible for TOIL, and instructs ministries to strictly manage accrued time off so it is used within six months and “not carried forward indefinitely.”
Permanent Secretaries have been instructed to limit approvals for any cash overtime to exceptional circumstances only, with the requirement that “the need is to be identified by the Permanent Secretary/Head of Agency/Manager, not by the individuals concerned.” The document has been distributed to all Permanent Secretaries and departments and explicitly supersedes previous directives on overtime management.
The government framed the change as part of “cost mitigating measures” tied to the country’s declared fuel emergency, aimed at reducing expenditure while the disruption persists. The retroactive start date means overtime worked since April 8 is subject to the new rules unless an exceptional approval is granted, raising questions for ministries that routinely rely on overtime to maintain services.
The policy shift is likely to have particular implications for frontline services. The Ministry of Health and Medical Services, for example, previously disclosed in December that it had paid about $5.9 million in overtime to healthcare workers during the first five months of the financial year, underscoring how much some departments depend on overtime to cover staffing gaps. Under the new circular, such departments will need to manage workloads through TOIL, roster adjustments or seek formal exceptional approvals if additional paid hours are necessary.
Permanent Secretaries are now responsible for implementing TOIL management across agencies and ensuring staffing decisions—rather than individual requests—drive any approvals for paid overtime. The latest circular represents the administration’s immediate attempt to curb wage-related expenditures until fuel supply and pricing pressures ease; further operational guidance or adjustments may follow as ministries work to adapt rosters and service delivery to the directive.
Leave a comment