Fijian military junta imposes austerity budget

The junta took power on December 5 after a protracted standoff between former prime minister Laisenia Qarase and Bainimarama, the military commander. Labour leader Chaudhry and his former Labour deputy leader, Poseci Bune, soon joined Bainimarama’s unelected cabinet. Their decision to join the junta reflects Labour’s underlying agreement with the austerity measures advocated by Bainimarama and sections of business that backed his coup. During national elections last May, Labour campaigned against Qarase on the basis of being better economic managers.

Bainimarama is clearly relying on Chaudhry and the Labour Party, particularly through its connections to the trade unions, to help stifle opposition to the budget. As secretary general of the Fiji Public Service Association, Chaudhry led Fiji’s first-ever civil service strike in 1963. Now he is inflicting a 5 percent pay cut on public servants, together with savage cutbacks to public health and education.

Introducing the budget, Chaudhry declared that the “state of the government’s finances is at its worst ever” and “I am therefore calling for sacrifice”. He unveiled a $F200 million ($US120 million) cut from last November’s $1.7 billion budget under Qarase. Much of the reduction came from the pay cut for all civil servants, except for cabinet ministers. Chaudhry perversely described the pay reduction as “very kind this time”, compared to the 15 percent slashed after the 1987 coup and the 12.5 percent in 2000.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2007/mar2007/fiji-m06.shtml