Fiji Nursing Association president supports removal of contractual employment, extension of retirement age
The Fiji Nursing Association (FNA) has supported deliberations by the Public Service Commission (PSC) to phase out contractual appointments and the extension of the retirement age from 55 years old to 60 years old.
FNA president Dr Alisi Vudiniabola said the association welcomed the removal of contracts from nurses because it was one of the main ‘push’ factors for those who had left Government service over the past years.
PSC chair Luke Rokovada earlier this week said the commission had agreed on the removal of contractual appointment for all civil servants, except permanent secretaries, and the extension of the retirement age to 60 years for submission to cabinet. Dr Vudiniabola said contracts had been a source of insecurity for many nurses.
“It has also become an oppressive agent of workplace bullying and a tool for submission that ‘silenced’ nurses against all the unhealthy work environment they work in, especially in the past four years,” she said. “These contracts have systematically removed all workers’ rights and grievance processes from nurses where most of them were subjected to threats of ‘turning 55’ should they report or complain.
“This contractual system worked really well for the type of autocratic/ authoritative type of leadership that’s rife in Fiji’s Ministry of Health, so we hope that at least the nurses can feel more secure now with these contracts are gone.”
She added that the FNA was also happy
about the extension of the retirement age to 60 years.
“We have been asking and proposing to the previous Government as a strategy to retain our senior and most experienced nurses,” she said.
“We have been saying that the retirement age at 55 years compounded by the migration of our senior experienced and well qualified nurses out of nursing and out of Fiji deprived our younger nurses of being mentored and nurtured by senior nurses.”
She said they hoped the extension of retirement age would help slow down the migration of nurses as well and keep them in the services longer than before.