Liason Officers Track PALM Scheme Extra Marital Affair Claims

Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme (PALM) employers have no control over how workers behave outside working hours, says Minister for Employment, Agni Deo Singh.

Mr Singh was responding to questions about extramarital affairs, saying that Fijian workers leaving the scheme had been involved, ignoring their wives and families in Fiji.

Reported cases

He said while there have been cases of these acts reported to them, their employers have limited control over what their workers do outside of work.

“The ministry, during all its pre-departure training sessions, strongly advocates family values and the importance of staying connected through effective communication, including but not limited to using our Country Liaison Officers (CLO) and Pastoral Care and counselling experts abroad to minimise the social family impacts,” Mr Singh said.

He said this had been a real challenge, not only for the ministry but for affected families, including employers abroad, as it was an issue that they all could not determine from the start.

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Ministry prioritises family values

“The ministry, however, will continue to explore other avenues to minimise the pain on families impacted by this negative social behaviour by a small number of workers,” he added.

He said the ministry prioritised the importance of family values to address current challenges.

The ministry has recruited three CLOs in Australia to attend to and address the wellbeing of our workers as part of the Coalition Government’s commitment to care for their welfare under the scheme.

Mr Singh has also requested family members or members of the public report any concerns or issues that families have, while their loved ones are away in Australia or New Zealand under the bilateral programmes.

The minister said the ministry had also appointed a “Welfare Coordinator” within the ministry to connect family members back in Fiji with those under the programme, including their employers and the CLOs.

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