A TOTAL of 69 workers working for a New Zealand-based company contracted for road works in Fiji will not have their contracts renewed.
In a statement sent by the Ministry of Information, a spokesperson of Higgins Contractors said all those whose contracts had not been renewed would receive pay at the end of the month.
However, 128 of the 197 former Department of National Roads casual staff members who were engaged by Higgins under three-month temporary contracts will be offered permanent contracts beginning April 1.
The spokesperson said the decision was made after extensive consultations with its workforce to make sure that all affected workers were well informed on the process and the reasoning behind it.
"The three-month period allowed us to establish exactly what we required in terms of our staff, in order to make sure that we are able to meet all the requirements of our contract.
"I would like to thank all the former DNR employees for their extremely hard work and eagerness to learn," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also acknowledged the huge investment by government to improve Fiji's road infrastructure, and said this process was established to assemble the best team possible to deliver high-quality roads to the Fijian people.
"We are committed to giving Fijians the best return on their investment," the spokesperson said.
The other contractors engaged by the Fiji Roads Authority adopted different approaches to absorbing former DNR unestablished/casual staff members in order to best optimise their workforce and did not offer temporary contracts.