Tabuya: No talk of cutting or sending people home

The festive season sounded more merrier yesterday to staff members of the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation.

Their minister Lynda Tabuya has promised no job loss during her tenure.

In her first day in office yesterday, Ms Tabuya, while visiting ministry offices and departments, said more employment opportunities were available in her ministry.

She toured the ministry’s offices and departments in Suva with her assistant minister Sashi Kiran yesterday. Ms Tabuya said that there were a lot of vacancies available within the ministry and conversations surrounding employees being sent home was not a reality. “We have just got here on our first day,” she said.

“We are getting to know the ministry and the departments. Our job

here, initially, is to bring all our staff together. There is no talk of cutting or sending people home.

“We would like is to really get the feel of the landscape and what is here.”

Ms Tabuya said out of the 400 plus positions in the ministry, about 300 were filled substantively in acting positions.

“We have civil servants here who have institutional memory, very valuable to the work that we need to do,” Ms Tabuya said.

“We wish to remain that way. In fact we have a lot of vacancies that need to be filled.”

She hopes to get the Cabinet’s approval to get the positions filled to allow the efficient services of the ministry.

She said some of the employees had been in acting positions for almost a year and recognitions of their work needed to be highlighted. Edited by Maikeli Seru