Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations Minister Agni Deo Singh has warned that chronic staff absenteeism — commonly known as “Monday sickness” — remains a serious drag on workplace productivity, telling business leaders in Nadi that the problem persists despite repeated calls for action.
Speaking at the Nadi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Business Symposium at the Tanoa Skylodge Hotel on Friday, Mr Singh urged employers and unions to confront the pattern directly. “I have said this before. I have said this to the unions. I want to say again that we still have a serious problem with Monday sickness,” he said, recounting a recent complaint from a construction employer who rang him to say: “Minister, I employ 45 workers today, I have nine.”
Singh used the symposium to link absenteeism with broader debates on wages and productivity. He acknowledged calls for a higher living wage but said employers are increasingly experimenting with incentives tied to output. “People are still saying that a living wage should be higher than what we are paying now,” he said. “I was just talking to one of our investors here in this country and I was very much encouraged by the incentives. The workers are incentivised for productivity. I think that’s a good approach by any employer.”
The minister also signalled that discussions about raising minimum wage standards are continuing, suggesting the government is watching both pay levels and workplace practices as it weighs policy responses. His remarks come amid ongoing national conversations about cost of living, labour standards and how best to boost business competitiveness.
Singh took a firm stance on claims of widespread joblessness, contending that lack of work is not the primary barrier for many seeking employment. “If anybody in this country says that they are unemployed because there is no job, they are not telling the truth,” he told the audience, framing absenteeism and low productivity as obstacles to better wages and economic growth.
Business delegates at the symposium were presented with a picture of employers coping with absenteeism while trialling productivity-linked pay as one remedy. The minister’s comments underscore a government push to encourage private-sector solutions alongside potential statutory changes on minimum wages, and to pressure both unions and employers to address attendance and output issues.
By raising the example of construction-site absenteeism and endorsing productivity incentives, Singh’s address reframes the debate from one solely about wage levels to a combined focus on employment availability, worker attendance and employer strategies to boost output. His intervention is the latest signal that labour policy in Fiji will be shaped not only by minimum wage considerations but also by efforts to tackle absenteeism and lift workplace productivity.