BY NED GAGAHE
Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele has confirmed receiving a formal submission from the Solomon Islands Council of Trade Union (SICTU) calling for the immediate establishment of a tripartite body to review and reform the outdated Schemes of Service for public officers.
Prime Minister Manele confirmed this when asked by local media on Friday, August 8.
“I just received a submission from the trade unions. It’s currently in my in-tray now. I will look through it and ask my officials to look into that.
“It’s an important one. We’ll have a similar process as to what we are dealing with with the SINTA log of claims now. So my officials will handle that,” the Prime Minister said.
SICTU last week urged the government’s three coalition partners — OUR Party, Solomon Islands People First Party, and the Kandere Party — to urgently back the creation of a Tripartite Secretariat to address what it describes as decades of neglect in reforming the Schemes of Service.
SICTU National Secretary, Adrian Tuhanuku, said the current Schemes of Service lack career progression pathways, competitive remuneration, and effective skills development mechanisms, leading to inefficiency and a “brain drain” in critical sectors.
“Over the years, the failure of successive governments to address this commitment to their workers has resulted in declining service quality in healthcare, education, and public safety, directly impacting citizens’ well-being,” Tuhanuku said.
He said the proposed Tripartite Secretariat, reporting directly to the Prime Minister, would be tasked with reviewing and fixing the outdated and underfunded Schemes of Service for all public officers, including teachers, police, correctional services, doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, and general service officers.
Island Sun understands SICTU has been consistently lobbying for the body as a way to strengthen dialogue and collaboration between government, employers, and workers in the labour sector.
Tuhanuku added that despite repeated calls for inclusive policymaking, workers remain excluded from ministerial committees, state-owned enterprise boards, and parliamentary standing committees where decisions affecting their futures are made.
He said this unilateral approach undermines the spirit of tripartism endorsed by the Ministry of Commerce and the Labour Advisory Board.
