Fiji To Pilot PALM Disability Programme

Fiji is one of the eight coun­tries that will be piloting the inclusion of persons with dis­ability into the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme (PALM).

Minister for Employment, Parveen Bala, revealed the dedi­cation of Fijians workers in Aus­tralia opened the opportunity for more Fijians to be employed under the scheme.

“Through this programme, we are able to allow our Fijian Women to contribute to their livelihoods, their families, their communities and in whole the economy of our beloved Fiji,” he told the latest batch of PALM workers on Friday.

“The PALM Scheme has some­thing called the “GEDSI” or Gen­der Equality & Disability Social Inclusion, which ensures that our women are equally represented in the programme.

“Women are strong and with the will they possess, they will finish the programme and always have their families at heart.”

The Government, in its latest re­cruitment, will be sending 286 Fi­jians for work overseas. This is the largest number ever recorded by the National Employment Centre.

“The Fijian Government is thankful for the assistance provid­ed by the Australian Government in the provision of the In-Country Recruitment Database (IRD), that is still a work in progress and with this database fully function­al should reduce the amount of paperwork at NEC and hopefully online registration,” he said.

Mr Bala said following the suc­cessful piloting phase of the aged-care training with the Aus­tralia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC), Fiji was recruiting for the particular field.

“I would like to encourage all our workers who might want to go into the aged care industry, please choose aged care courses that will be recognised by both Fiji and Australia,” he said.

“We must be mindful of certain standards that Australia and New Zealand have,” he said, add­ing that people must opt for the courses that were more in depth and could take up to six months to complete.

“To you meat workers present here this afternoon, always share your experience of the long wait and the many follow-ups you did with NEC before being selected.”

Mr Bala advised Fijians already under the programme to not take laws into their own hands as there were consequences to face.

He said there were people at NEC that could deal with their griev­ances should there be any.

“Do good, work hard, listen to your supervisors and follow in­structions and do not be swayed by the bright lights and of course, think of your families always.”

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