Wednesday, March 7, 2007

NIUE PSA SET TO CHALLENGE FOUR-DAY WEEK

NIUE PSA SET TO CHALLENGE FOUR-DAY WEEK

Date: 9 February 2007

The Niue Government may have a fight on its hand if public servants decide they can't live with the four-day week Cabinet this week approved.

The bulk of the island's 450 public servants have been put on fewer hous in a bid to salvage a budget shortfall of more than a million dollars.

But anger's growing and there's talk of a rally tomorrow at the Fale Fono.

Shane Tovaka, a PSA member and broadcaster, says the cuts are unexpected and workers have not budgeted for losing as much as a hundred dollars a week, in some cases.

But not everyone's unhappy about the new plan. Mark Cross, the interim chairman for Niue's Chamber of Commerce, says many workers were doing four-day weeks anyway.

Niue's finance minister, Fisa Pihigia, says they had no choice.

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