The Ministry of Health and Medical Services has told Parliament that unpaid overtime owed to health workers for January to March 2026 stands at about $1.7 million, underscoring mounting financial pressure across public hospitals and divisional health services. The figures were revealed in a written response from Health Minister Dr Atonio Lalabalavu to a question from opposition MP Premila Kumar.
Dr Lalabalavu’s response said the ministry’s salary, wage and overtime funding has been decentralised across 14 cost centres, with the heads of those centres responsible for managing payments. The ministry’s established practice when a cost centre exhausts its overtime allocation is to advise staff to take Time Off In Lieu (TOIL) rather than paid overtime. Despite that, the ministry’s data shows eight of the 14 cost centres have already exhausted their overtime budgets, including the Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWM) in Suva, Labasa Hospital and several divisional health services.
The ministry confirmed that all overtime up to December 2025 had been paid in full, but approved overtime has continued to accumulate in 2026 because budget provisions were insufficient. “The current expenditure until last pay is approximately $9.9 million, overspent by $2.4 million,” Dr Lalabalavu said in the parliamentary reply. Officials warned the $1.7 million figure is likely to rise once data from several major cost centres that have not yet reported is included.
Unpaid amounts are concentrated among lower- and mid-level clinical and technical staff, the ministry said, naming officers on Band E and below, registered nurses, medical imaging technologists and senior pharmacy technicians as those most affected. These roles have shouldered additional hours to maintain services but, under current allocations, cannot be fully compensated in cash until budgets are replenished or reallocated.
The disclosure follows a period in which the ministry made significant overtime payments to sustain front-line services; in late 2025 the ministry reported multi‑million dollar disbursements to cover overtime amid staffing shortages. The new figures in Parliament have renewed scrutiny of how overtime is funded and managed within the public health system, and come against a wider backdrop of national budget constraints highlighted by other government discussions on reducing debt and controlling public spending.
The ministry’s written response did not include a timeline for clearing the outstanding overtime liabilities. With overtime approvals continuing into 2026 and several cost centres yet to finalise their accounts, health-sector unions and MPs say the issue will shape debates over the upcoming budget and the sustainability of current staffing and rostering practices in Fiji’s public hospitals.