Pacific labour scheme under leaders review

The treatment and recruitment of Pacific Islanders, including Fiji, under the Pacific labour mobility scheme are part of this year’s Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting discussions.

This week, Forum leaders had discussed a set of principles that cover the labour mobility arrangements, including regional and sub-regional agreements.

Pacific Islands Forum Programme Adviser – Trade, Natalia Patternot, said the labour mobility principles included respecting the sovereignty of members, and ensuring recruitment processes were fair, ethical and transparent.

“It's an important opportunity,” she said.

“But with opportunity comes a lot of challenges. And this is where we've seen a lot of risk associated with labour mobility, including discrimination, exploitation, forced labour and unfair recruitment practices.”

Over the years, some Pacific Islanders who were recruited under the Pacific Labour Mobility scheme to work in Australia and New Zealand were victims of exploitation and unfair working practices. These forms of 'modern day slavery' are also experienced by labourers who are recruited to work in some Pacific Islands.

The labour mobility principles that are now under review by the leaders identify loopholes in the scheme that needs improvement, providing a guide to regional cooperation in this area.

“It's supposed to pave way for more work in these areas,” Ms Patternot said.

After multiple dialogues with civil society organisations across the region, leaders will now consider these principles in its agenda.

“It's to ensure that labour mobility continues to contribute to meaningful and sustainable economic development, social protection as well as regional cooperation.”

Ms Patternot said the labour mobility scheme had evolved over the years with Pacific Islands not only sending workers, but also receiving them.

“Initially we started with only unskilled labour mobility and now we're shifting to even semi skilled, meatworks, aged care, areas where people require certification in.

“We've also shifted from seasonal to season to nine months to even more medium-term kind of work, one to four years now even.

“Now we've shifted from just being sending countries to now some of our Pacific countries are also receiving countries.”

In 2023, leaders agreed for the development of a set of principles that will cover the Pacific labour mobility.