Vodafone Fiji has denied claims made by a former army colonel that the company was involved in phone tapping.
Ratu Tevita Mara, who fled Fiji in May while facing sedition charges, told Radio New Zealand phone and internet tapping started in early 2007, under interim Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama, and Vodafone was the main company involved.
He said he was present when Bainimarama read over transcripts of private conversations and said information technology (IT) specialists from overseas had been brought in to help.
“It obviously has increased more and now with the IT technicians from India who came in and I’ve heard also that they’ve got technicians from China also who are there assisting in this,” Ratu Tevita said.
Vodafone Fiji insists it does not have the technology to allow mobile phones to be intercepted and says no military personnel have ever been permitted to enter its exchange or to monitor calls.
Ratu Tevita is son of the founding Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara and close ties with the royal family of Tonga, where he is now believed to be living.
Meanwhile, the Fiji government will be conducting a national minimum wage survey as it prepares to have a national minimum wage implemented early next year.
Cabinet approved the national minimum wage survey after a submission by the Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment, Filipe Bole.
Mr Bole said the survey would be conducted by the Labour Ministry and would begin in the last quarter of this year for implementation next year, Fijilive reported.
“The survey will be aimed at obtaining critical information on the existing terms and conditions of employment, including wage levels in the various sectors of our economy for making informed determination on the appropriate level of minimum wage and the relevant review mechanism to be adopted,” said Bole.
“The determination of a national minimum wage will be based largely on the findings from the survey and will be the hourly rate below which all sectoral minimum wage rates must not be allowed to fall.”