Page 18 - Islands Business June 2023

HR and Recruitment HR and Recruitment

Fijian tourism sector workers in Uluru, Australia. Photo: Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme/Facebook

LABOUR MOBILITY UNDER

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti ferent jobs, they are still far more than for comparable work
than in their home countries.
When Samoa’s Prime Minister told returning seasonal work- Meleisea said, “The New Zealand-Australia labour mobility
ers last year, “I want Samoa to be a place where people want scheme was specifically designed to provide work to unem-
to live,” it highlighted the dilemma facing not just Samoa, ployed young people.
but a number of other Pacific nations. “Unfortunately, our research demonstrates that a significant
Speaking at the 2023 Pacific Update on the subject of Pa- proportion of those workers who solicited jobs in the private
cific migration in June, the Director of Samoan Studies at the and public sectors to become seasonal workers somehow
National University of Samoa, Leasiolagi Dr Malama Meleisea, managed to mislead the government agencies’ management
observed that the government is “between a rock and a hard schemes, as well as the labour recruiters in Samoa and abroad
place.” into thinking that they were unemployed.”
The researcher noted that while Samoa wants prosperity In a bid to stop skilled workers from leaving Samoa, the
without losing its most capable people, that prosperity cannot government put a temporary stop to the scheme while it
be afforded by working in Samoa. reviewed its operations.
“Evidence of the desperation to make money from seasonal Dr Meleisea said that the “government is also concerned
work was demonstrated in 2021 when thousands of Samoan about the loss of junior skilled and educated common work-
men and women tried to crowd into a church hall, where ers, including police, nurses, teachers, and clinical staff, to
registration was being held, accidently breaking down its seasonal work.”
windows and doors,” he noted. His research has found that “fairly small businesses chosen
Samoa’s minimum wage is ST$3 (US$1.10) per hour. In at random who are members of the Samoan Chamber of Com-
Australia, the minimum wage for casual fruit and vegetable merce… reported the loss of middle and lower-level employ-
pickers is AU$26.73 per hour. For full-time abattoir workers, ees that they had trained, and that many of the workers had
the minimum wage is AU$21.36 per hour. While the rates of lost skilled technicians.”
Australia’s and New Zealand’s labour schemes differ for dif- “Evidently, the former employees were prepared to live

18 Islands Business, June 2023