Minister for Employment, Productivity, Industrial Relations, Youth and Sports Praveen Bala, reminded workers to be mindful of what they post on Facebook

Mr Bala spoke to the 232 workers at Kshatriya Hall, Suva on Thursday evening who are bound to leave for Australia under the National Employment Centre (NEC) scheme programme.

Workers under the Pacific Labour Mobility scheme, at Kshatriya Hall, Suva. Photo: Viliame Tawanakoro

“Please refrain from posting unnecessary things on Facebook, that will not help you, it will destroy you and your future.” Minister Bala said.

“Many have said that only a few are chosen to be part of this scheme, but now you see the numbers are growing because of our planning

“There were thousands of applications and you all are blessed to be part of this process and are lucky to be one of the 232 .”

Some 136 people will be working in the meat work industry for four years while 76 will be joining the seasonal working programme for nine months.

Mr Bala pleaded with workers not to take the laws into their own hands and to think of their families back at home

As Fiji is gearing up for an election, Mr Bala told workers to be mindful of opportunists who will paint a bad picture of this scheme

“Some of you have families living in Australia but do not let them persuade you to do the unthinkable,” he said

“When working and living in Australia, don’t forget the goals you have set out to achieve when you return home.”

Many Fijians have submitted their expression to join this programme.

Mr Bala said the process itself is transparent and at the moment they were processing applications from last year.

“There are no independent recruiters set out by the ministry, and we are aware of the posting made on a Facebook post that has been using the Government Logo in trying to recruit workers, we are investing in that matter,” Mr Bala said.

In his remarks, Mr Bala also acknowledged the continuous support of their partners for making regular visits to engage our Fijian workers under the Pacific Labour Mobility scheme.

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