Traps of the Polynesian Triangle

Fijians are often hoodwinked when accepting employment contracts in Pacific island countries.

For the purpose of this Shine a Light edition, we focus on Fijians who are employed in Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands.

Many of these Fijian workers are women. They are employed as housemaids, babysitters and housekeepers. Some are also in the tourism and hospitality sector.

Most of them do not go through an official recruitment agency.

The search and hope for greener pastures often come through recommendations from friends and families who are already employed in these countries.

The reality of what Fijians face when they arrive in their new place of employment is quite different. While packages are lucrative, some workers claim employers do not uphold their end of the bargain.

However, there are other highly qualified Fijians employed in specialised fields. Exploitation happens in the lower end of the labour spectrum.

Employment issues faced by such Fijians in these three Polynesian countries are similar.

These include poor working conditions, ill-treatment by employers, reduced wages and to some extreme extent, the confiscation of travel documents.

The late Vani Ravula, who passed away in Samoa on Christmas Day last year, is an example of Fijians who worked longer hours.

Ms Ravula was employed as a maid for a Samoan couple for a year.

It is alleged she was made to work without any proper work documents. Her superannuation savings were not deducted also.

Questions sent via Facebook Messenger to the employer were not answered.

Despite being a noticeable part of those Polynesian island communities, Fijian workers are usually reserved and tend to shy away from formally raising their complaints.

The only time they raise their concerns is through friends around a kava session.

And it does not help either with these three Polynesian countries being close-knit communities.

While the respective Governments do not condone the inhumane practises, formal complaints usually ends with junior officials.

Nonetheless, the number of Fijians in these countries continue to increase.

In its 2019 Pacific Labour Mobility report, the International Labour Organisation noted Fiji’s advanced education and skills training systems allowed them to dominate the skilled workforce in Pacific island countries (PICs).

“Fijians have found employment in several PICs and in various occupations including as teachers, nurses, skilled trades people, various managerial positions, as well as in the tourism and hospitality industry,” the report said.

Questions sent to the Permanent Secretary for Labour, Osea Cawaru, remained unanswered when this edition went to press.

COOK ISLANDS

There were about 1600 Fijians in the Cook Islands in 2016. This number has doubled over the years, Fijian Association president Roana Mataitini said.

Most Fijians in the Cook Islands are employed in the tourism sector. They are generally well looked after. During this COVID-19 pandemic, these workers are being subsidised by the Cook Islands Government.

The minimum wage rate in the Cooks is $8.

However, there’s still a lack of understanding among the workers about their rights and entitlements as employees. This leads to serious breaches.

A tourism industry worker, who spoke on the condition of not being named, said she had applied for a vacancy as a spa therapist. At first, her arrival on April 28, 2016, for a three-year contract started well.

“My boss did not take advantage of me,” she said.

Until when she was tasked to carry out manual work outdoors after completing her normal eight hours of work.

Something, she said, was not part of her skill set. She felt abused and ill-treated. She had formally lodged a complaint and her case is now in court.

She is now working for another employer as a spa therapist.

Ms Mataitini said there were also “illegal deductions”. An example of such deductions includes airfares that employers pay for workers to travel to the Cooks.

This is then deducted from the wages of the workers. However, this deduction was not initially agreed to between the worker and employers.

Cook Islands lawyer and former Government minister and journalist Wilkie Rasmussen said he had dealt with several inhumane cases involving Fijian workers.

“In some cases, some Fijians believe they were hired to do a certain job, but once they come under contract, they get to do everything, whatever the employer wants to be done. What happens they are almost working non-stop,” Mr Rasmussen said.

“At one instance, I had a woman who would cook doughnuts, do laundry, do general housework, all within the same 24 hours. She was really kind of driven to do the work and often got threatened if she didn’t.

“These employers tend to stop breaching conduct that is not condoned once they become the focus of attention.”

Mr Rasmussen believes employers look to Fiji to recruit workers because of cheap labour.

TONGA

Fijians brought to Tonga for work often do not have proper employment visas, especially for domestic workers.

Most of these Fijians are caregivers, housemaids or helpers. It is understood the law in Tonga doesn’t limit the number of domestic workers an employer can bring in.

A letter presented to the former Minister for Employment, Jone Usamate, in 2016 by Tonga Fijian Association president Iliesa Tora highlighted the problems endured by some Fijian women.

Mr Tora had also raised the same issues to the late Tonga Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva in 2018.

“Their Tongan employers pay for their one-way ticket and produce an itinerary for return travel, allowing our Fijian employee to come into Tonga. Once they get here, their passports are then taken by their employers on the pretext that their visas are going to be lodged,” Mr Tora said.

But this is never done.

If Fijians dare to question their visa status, they are either sent away by their employers or their passports are forcefully seized from them.

This leads to bigger problems where Fijians are classified as overstayers. Overstayers are charged $1150 Pa’anga (F$1043.86) as penalty.

In instances where visas are granted, employers do not live up to their promises.

“Members work longer hours without extra pay and they even cut weekly wages without any reason,” Mr Tora said.

“Then there are some, who have been here for years without their visas being done because their local employers do not want to pay the penalty. These Fijian employees are then not able to travel to Fiji unless they decide to return home for good.”

Should these Fijians opt to return to Fiji, they then pay for an “Enable to Depart” letter from Tonga’s immigration department.

But they are not able to return to Tonga for 10 years at least, Mr Tora said.

In 2012, the number of Fijians in Tonga numbered around 150. This number has increased to more than 200 in 2018.

SAMOA

Employment issues faced by Fijians in Samoa are no different. Mira Lasekula worked in Samoa for five months.

Through the recommendation of a family member already employed in Samoa, she signed a contract as an administration officer.

Instead, upon her arrival in Samoa, she was made to work in her employer’s flower shop.

“I was getting paid $200 weekly,” she said.

“I had approached my employer once, they said they would increase my wage, but that never happened. At one stage, I fell sick, and had to pay for my own medical expenses.”

Ms Lasekula said while raising her concerns with Samoa’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour, she was told her contract was forged by her employer.

She returned to Fiji in December 2019. Her airfare was paid by her partner.

Another employee, who spoke on the condition of not being named, said his employers breached their contract.

Through a friend’s recommendation, he resigned from his work at the Ministry of Health to sign a contract that offered a “lucrative package”.

He was promised a weekly pay of $583 after superannuation deductions. Instead, his first wages as a head florist designer was $120.

“I showed it to my boss, but my boss said that was just a starting rate, and after my three-month probation they would increase it. But then the pay increased slowly to more than $200 and later to $345,” he said.

“Imagine, from 2017 when I started work to 2019 December when I left, my superannuation savings was just a little over $800. This was taken from the cash till in the office when I was booked to return to Fiji.”

The former employee claimed he was made to work longer hours, sometimes into the night.

Other times he was made to plan and decorate weddings alone in various hotels. There was no extra pay and no pay slip.

“Even if I get sick, they force me to work because they claim I was not really sick.”

For some of these workers, their only way to escape the harsh working conditions is to find a way to return to Fiji.

Even if this means forfeiting their superannuation savings.

THE NATURE OF COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS INCLUDES:

1. Breaches of employment agreement,
2. Breaches of Employment Relations Act including unpaid wages, unfair termination, unlawful deductions and workplace.

EMPLOYMENT COMPLAINTS ARISE BECAUSE OF:

1. Discrepancies in understanding the rights and obligations of both parties in the workplace plays a major role in causing workplace disruptions; and
2. Our office assists both parties to understand their role towards each other and the fact that there are complaints demonstrates that communication channels exist and awareness raising activities are effective.