Addressing The Brain Drain

A innovative brain drain policy must be devel­oped to address the shortage of skilled labour in the country.

The World Bank has recommended perhaps one of the most practical ways to control the exodus of skilled workers abroad and closer to home.

Fijians who hold formal employment should be ex­cluded from qualifying for opportunities under the PALM (Pacific Australia Labour Mobility) Scheme.

This measure is proposed as a means for the Gov­ernment to address the brain drain issue and retain skilled individuals within the country.

The World Bank’s August 2023 Pacific Economic Update included this proposal as one of its recom­mendations.

In addition to this, is an income threshold within the civil service that is compatible with the local market rate.

Not within the World Bank recommendations but more to this is the consideration of reinstating the Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA).

Rising food prices, VAT, inflation are all but some reasons why the average Fijian breadwinner can no longer sustain his/her family.

It’s simply too much to bear.

Even a primary school teacher working for Govern­ment for more than two decades, for instance, sitting on $24,000 per annum cannot provide the financial stability to his family of five.

What does he do? Apply for the PALM scheme and secure a job three-year job offer working in the meat industry.

This is a real-life account of a father approaching his retirement age who had to make the tough deci­sion of leaving the noble profession for a lucrative job offer overseas.

The Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, during one of his campaign trails last year, as the leader for The People’s Alliance had suggested reinstating COLA.

But that was shut down by the then Attorney-Gener­al and Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, saying it was an obsolete system because different sectors had different demands.

What now? Nurses working 12 hours a shift, often under immense pressure, coupled with a skeleton staff that even call-backs (overtime) are becoming very seldom for them.

Even after fulfilling overtime hours, they must wait for approval by the permanent secretary until those hours are fully paid.

This is a stark contrast to the successful PPP (pub­lic-private-partnership) in the health sector, that is with Aspen Medical’s partnership.

It is a shining example of how well the brain drain can be controlled.

We’ve seen our public health nurses resigning in droves to apply for positions there and they are reap­ing the fruits of their labour quite well.

Last month, the Government announced the pay re­view for civil servants, which had not been done for the past five years. So, where does that leave COLA?

So many questions and so few successes, yet one thing is clear - a brain drain policy must be devel­oped to retain skilled workers at home to contribute to our economic growth.

Story By: Ranoba Baoa

Feedback: ranobab@fijisun.com.fj