Tonga Launches Labour Mobility Supply Management Strategy
NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga – The Tongan Prime Minister Hon. Hu’akavameiliku has launched the Tonga Labour Mobility Supply Management Strategy (TLMSMS) today, funded by the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus). The strategy aims to develop a well-managed, coordinated labour mobility supply management programme that is equitable, inclusive, can broaden the range of appropriate and aligned skills for both domestic and international supply. The Prime Minister emphasised the importance of labour mobility as a key component of Tonga’s long-term development strategy, saying: “Labour mobility provides an important, viable development opportunity for Tonga to generate positive impacts for our socio-economic development. It is therefore essential to embed labour mobility as a key component of Tonga’s long-term development strategy.” Tonga has been participating in the Australian and New Zealand labour mobility schemes since their inception in 2007 for New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, 2012 for Australia’s Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP), and 2018 for the Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS). Tonga has consistently been one of the three main Pacific labour supply countries. Tongan men have predominantly been recruited for seasonal work in Australia and New Zealand, with Tongan women accounting for around 13 per cent of SWP and RSE visa grants in recent years. The TLMSMS aims to address the labour mobility supply challenges faced by Tonga as demand for Pacific labour is expected to increase significantly over the next five years. The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme is expected to increase from its present 35,000 workers to almost 50,000 by 2025-26, while New Zealand’s labour mobility programmes are expanding to new sectors including construction and infrastructure, meat and seafood processing, the care workforce, and tourism and hospitality. Head of PACER Plus Implementation Unit, Mr. Roy Lagolago, said: “Labour mobility is a potential development vehicle for Pacific labour sending countries such as Tonga but optimising these benefits requires conducive policies and strategies to balance the costs and benefits for the country. The Tonga Labour Mobility Supply Management Strategy has been developed through evidence-based approaches to help increase Tonga’s development gains from labour mobility and contribute to the country’s sustainable economic development.” The TLMSMS was jointly conducted by labour mobility experts and officials from Tonga, New Zealand, and Australia working collectively to ensure an evidence-based approach to the findings. The TLMSMS has identified a range of skill shortages and labour shortages across the domestic market, particularly for medium to high-skilled professionals, trades, construction areas, and specific semi-skilled occupations. The Tonga 2021 Census of Population and Housing identified over 25 per cent of Tongan households have remittances from labour mobility workers as their main source of income. Temporary labour mobility remittances from Tongans working on SWP and RSE programmes were much higher than for any other labour-supplying country, with an estimated average of US$4,108 (TOP$9,545) sent per working season per person. The TLMSMS identified that the development challenge for Tonga is not a labour shortage but a skills shortage. This is largely due to the impact of permanent migration, a serious under-skilling of the work force, with lack of sufficient educational and vocational options, and labour mobility selection processes which allow over-skilled Tongans to take low-skilled jobs. Informed by evidence from the labour market data analysis, the TLMSMS provides an action plan for the next three years which will essentially provide a roadmap for Tonga’s management of its labour mobility supply. The key focus areas in the roadmap are improved labour mobility governance, improved labour mobility worker selection, targeted reintegration programmes, skills development to increase domestic skills supply and generate net-skills gains for Tonga, private sector engagement and labour market data management and intelligence programme. Tonga’s Ministry of Trade and Economic Development in collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Education and Statistics Department will lead the implementation of the Strategy and are required to submit an annual progress update to cabinet. The Governments of Australia and New Zealand both expressed their support of the Strategy and their commitment to the implementation of the action plan. -END- More articles like this one
Economic and social impact of labour mobility in Vanuatu
Converting the negatives to positives: Vanuatu Strengthening Seasonal Workers Family Programme (SSFWP) One of the downsides to labour mobility is the negative social impacts on families of workers left behind in their home countries. As Pacific labour mobility programmes are largely dominated by men, the wives are often required to manage the households and take on the roles of both mother and father while their husbands are abroad. Peter Bumseng was one of the first 45 Vanuatu workers to participate in the New Zealand Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme. He has participated in the program every year since, and in 2011 he and his wife Regina, established the Strengthening Seasonal Worker Family Program in Vanuatu. In an interview with the Australian National University Development Policy Centre, Mr. Bumseng stated: “It started with my wife who took the families once a month, just on social occasions, like taking a picnic. I found this was helpful in New Zealand, as when the men know their families are happy and being looked after, they perform to the best of their ability in a good working environment. This is how we started and came up with some ideas and programs to look after the families. We know we can only move ahead if the process is right, if the families and communities are right.” The SSFWP is essentially a localised support group for the spouses of the workers. It started with five women engaging in monthly meetings at Peter and Regina’s home, with Regina regularly checking on workers’ spouses to ensure they had support. Peter and Regina would monitor the wellbeing of the workers and their spouses, and when issues arose, they would each provide targeted support to the workers and families involved including through house visits. Since 2011, the SSWPF has significantly grown in membership. Monthly activities continue to bring together families to support each other and share their experiences. The program now also provides new programmes focusing on social, educational, and spiritual support which are fundamental to helping workers and their families cope with the separation and the potential problems associated. The SSWFP also provides counselling programmes for workers and their spouses and have internally developed solutions to address social problems amongst the members. The activities of the SSWFP are self-funded through fundraising activities by the workers and their spouses in Vanuatu. The workers in New Zealand set up a Christian reggae band to raise funds through concerts. The spouses also work together to raise funds through selling food, producing local arts and crafts, and sewing items for tourist and local markets. The proceeds have helped the set-up of a rotation of money scheme where each household is given VT15,000 (AUD189) in their fortnightly meetings. They have also initiated a loan scheme for workers and their families who have set up new businesses. The SSFWP highlights the importance of localised support groups to addressing the negative social impacts of labour mobility. Peter believes that the programme can be replicated in other countries as the challenges are similar. It only takes the commitment of champions such as Peter and his wife to convert the negatives to positive outcomes for the workers and their families. More articles like this one
PACER Plus an opportunity for regenerative development, trade, and investment in Vanuatu
PORT VILA, Vanuatu – Vanuatu has taken a major step to boost its economy and improve the livelihood of its people by ratifying the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus. PACER Plus, a unique development-centered trade and investment agreement between eight Pacific Island Countries and Australia and New Zealand, aims to reduce barriers to trade and investment, and promote economic development and prosperity in the region. Vanuatu’s ratification of PACER Plus marks a major milestone in the country’s commitment to trade and economic development. The agreement is expected to bring significant economic benefits to Vanuatu’s people and businesses but will require a change of mindset and a desire to change the way trade is implemented. It will reduce tariffs on goods traded with Australia and New Zealand, allowing for improved access to these markets. It will also provide the opportunity for Vanuatu to benefit from the services and investment markets of Australia and New Zealand, allowing for increased trade and foreign direct investment. In addition, the agreement will help Vanuatu to diversify its economy, providing a boost to its tourism and agricultural sectors. It will also provide improved access to technology and knowledge, allowing for more efficient and productive businesses. During the official launch of PACER Plus awareness workshop today, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and External Trade, Hon. Jotham Napat said the benefits of ratifying PACER Plus are numerous. “It will provide better job opportunities for the people of Vanuatu. It will open new avenues of employment for our people, helping to reduce poverty and improve the overall wellbeing of our community,” said Mr. Napat. Head of PACER Plus Implementation Unit and Labour Mobility Secretariat, Roy Lagolago, welcomed Vanuatu to the PACER Plus family, the tenth country to ratify the agreement. “PACER Plus is unique compared to other trade agreements. Unique in that a dedicated secretariat – the PACER Plus Implementation Unit – has been set up to assist and support member parties to ensure the opportunities and benefits offered by PACER Plus are shared equally between all people by targeting and supporting more women, youth, and persons with disabilities to engage in trade. Ratifying PACER Plus is the easy part; the challenge for Vanuatu now is to unite and be clear on what they want to achieve to make the most of the opportunities that this agreement has to offer. We cannot continue to implement trade agreements in the same way and expect different results. That is why under PACER Plus, a different approach is required and we at the PACER Plus Implementation Unit stand ready to support Vanuatu towards that goal,” said Mr. Lagolago. Mr. Lagolago also announced that Vanuatu will be hosting the Pacific Labour Mobility Annual Meeting (PLMAM) this year, the first time for Vanuatu to do so. The event will bring together policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders from across the Pacific to discuss the ongoing challenges and opportunities in labour mobility. “The PLMAM is a vital platform for regional dialogue and cooperation on labour mobility, and we are delighted that Vanuatu will be hosting the event this year,” he said. The annual meeting aims to promote dialogue, collaboration, and innovation to improve the management of labour migration in the Pacific. More articles like this one
2022 Pacific Labour Mobility Annual Meeting Outcomes
The 2022 Pacific Labour Mobility Annual Meeting (PLMAM), held on 7 – 10 November 2022 in Apia, Samoa, reached consensus among 14 countries on agreed regional labour mobility priorities for FY2023/24. A range of initiatives were collectively identified, aimed at increasing development benefits for participating countries while addressing identified risks. The 2022 PLMAM Outcomes Document summarises the agreed decisions derived from dialogue during the four-day meeting. The PACER Plus Arrangement on Labour Mobility (ALM), which provides for the PLMAM, is a regional framework for labour mobility cooperation. The agreed outcomes from the PLMAM are regional activities that address common issues raised by participating countries and stakeholders. These agreed activities include the development of processes for worker welfare and well-being to address welfare risks in sending and receiving countries; development of a cultural framework to assist employers increase their understanding of cultural differences; development of a worker education framework to foster the systematic development of worker skills; development of a reintegration strategy to guide the integration of returning workers into local labour markets; and inclusive consultations between labour sending and receiving countries to align labour mobility opportunities with supply priorities and capacities in sending countries so as to address skills drain risks. The regional priorities inform the labour mobility annual plan of the PACER Plus Implementation Unit (PPIU) for 2023/24, where they will be implemented in collaboration with relevant regional and international organisations. The PPIU’s role in Pacific labour mobility is to facilitate the implementation of the ALM by contributing to the creation of an enabling labour mobility environment in the Pacific through effective regional cooperation. Along with the regional activities generated from the PLMAM, the PPIU also provides support at the national level to participating countries in the areas of: advancing knowledge sharing and cooperation; improving policy and institutional frameworks; identifying and promoting new opportunities including for semi-skilled and skilled labour mobility; and increasing the development benefits of labour mobility while mitigating risks such as negative social impacts and brain drain. Held on an annual basis, the PPIU, as Labour Mobility Secretariat, will continue to work with participating countries to increase the effectiveness of the PLMAM in advancing regional labour mobility cooperation through inclusive dialogues amongst all stakeholders. The 2023 PLMAM will be held in Port Vila, Vanuatu where progress against the 2022 Outcome Statement will be discussed, and new priorities and activities identified. To view the full 2022 PLMAM Outcomes Document, please click on 2022-PLMAM-Outcomes-Document. -ENDS- More articles like this one
Leveraging labour mobility for local business development
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. For many, labour mobility provides short-term but necessary support for families and communities back home. For a few, it means a step up to entrepreneurship and a way to support families long term when they return home. In 2008, Tumanuvao Pualele Fiu travelled from his Samoan village, Poutasi to Hastings, New Zealand as one of the first participants of the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme. He held a managerial position at Johnny Appleseed Holdings Limited for several months where he was responsible for overseeing a team of fellow RSE workers from the same village. Like other RSE workers, Fiu left Samoa with an aim to attain tangible outcomes for his family. During this time, he managed to save for, purchase and ship over a vehicle to Samoa. This humble sedan was to be the first step toward Fiu’s entrepreneurship endeavours. Upon his return to Samoa, Fiu started his own taxi service using the vehicle he had shipped from New Zealand. The business began well. Fiu was able to support his family through an arrangement with a well-known resort to ferry clients to nearby attractions. Tragedy stuck however on 29 September 2009 when the tsunami caused major damage to villages and businesses, including resorts, along the south coast of Samoa. Fiu’s taxi was also badly damaged. Despite losing his working vehicle, Fiu was able to use his savings from the RSE to start a brick-making business. The start-up was timely as affected areas of the Samoa south coast were rebuilding homes, churches, and hotels after the disaster. The products manufactured by Fiu’s brick business helped with the rebuild. After establishing the brick-making business, Fiu expanded into commercial fishing. He purchased two vessels and began supplying fish to the local market. Although the venture was successful, the inherent risks associated with fishing such as cyclone threats and basic sea safety caused Fiu to consider returning to port for good to pursue land-based business opportunities instead. He decided to sell the fishing vessels and use the funds to develop land for farming. Fiu now oversees a plantation where he primarily grows taro. His eldest son works on the family farm and assists in transporting the taro to market. Besides the taro plantation and the brick-making business, which is managed by his second eldest son, Fiu has diversified into lawn mowing and hiring out public address system. He employs up to 20 workers from the village through his various businesses. Tuatagaloa Joe Annandale, Founder of Poutasi Development Trust and Falealili Seasonal Workers Scheme, praised Fiu’s RSE journey at the Pacific Labour Mobility Annual Meeting 2022 held in Apia from 7-10 November. “The RSE journey for Tumanuvao Pualele Fiu and his family has gone full circle. Along with his many businesses, Fiu also mentors youths who wish to participate in the RSE scheme. He offers guidance and reinforces the need for participants to be disciplined in their work and life overseas as they are representing their families, village, and Samoa,” said Mr Annadale. Roy Lagolago, Head of PACER Plus Implementation Unit, agrees. “Fiu’s story is one of many encouraging examples of how labour mobility has been transformational for many Samoans and their families. PACER Plus recognizes that labour mobility as a vital trade initiative between Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Island Countries delivering shared economic benefits across the region,” said Mr Lagolago. More articles like this one
PLMAM 2022 concludes in Apia, Samoa
The sixth Pacific Annual Labour Mobility Meeting (PLMAM) 2022 was held in Apia, Samoa from 7-10 November 2022. Hosted by the Government of Samoa, this year’s PLMAM is the first in-person meeting following the hybrid-mode PLMAM in 2021. The 2022 PLMAM was attended by over 150 delegates from government, private sector, non-government actors, international agencies, and stakeholders in the Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, and Timor Leste to discuss labour mobility priorities in the region. PLMAM is provided under the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus Arrangement on Labour Mobility as a mechanism to advance regional labour mobility cooperation. “The significance of the PLMAM lies in the opportunity to bring the region together to discuss issues and come up with solutions to address these issues as a collective. As we heard this week, labour mobility is not just a development initiative but also an economic initiative for both labour sending and receiving countries,” said Mr Roy Lagolago, Head of PACER Plus Implementation Unit. “The PLMAM effectively provides the preeminent opportunity for open and inclusive dialogues that can advance the level of cooperation needed to enhance the benefits of labour mobility in the Pacific,” said Mr Lagolago. The theme of the 2022 PLMAM is “Reinvigorating Labour Mobility Cooperation for Development” and is an opportunity for Pacific labour mobility stakeholders to re-engage, reset, and re-commit to advancing effective regional cooperation. The 2022 PLMAM generated stimulating inclusive dialogues on current labour mobility opportunities and challenges and identified regional solutions and concrete actions for 2023/24. The alternate Chair of the final PLMAM Dialogue, Pulotu Lyndon Chu Ling, CEO of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Labour concluded by saying that “whilst the recently discussed recommendations in today’s session for more workshops, technical talanoas and additional staff of the PPIU are a step in the right direction, however what we need as a collective are practical solutions to our longstanding problems, which includes appropriate and affordable accommodation, improved pay rates, more efficient visa processes, to name a few.” Vanuatu made an offer to host the 2023 PLMAM. The PLMAM is funded by the Governments of Australia and New Zealand and is facilitated by the PACER Plus Implementation Unit which exists as the Labour Mobility Secretariat that supports the implementation of the Arrangement on Labour Mobility. More articles like this one
Samoa ready to host labour mobility annual meeting
The sixth Pacific Annual Labour Mobility Meeting (PLMAM) will be hosted by the Government of the Independent State of Samoa and will be held at the Taumeasina Island Resort in Apia on 7-10 November 2022. The PLMAM is provided under the PACER Plus Arrangement on Labour Mobility (ALM) as a mechanism to advance regional labour mobility cooperation. It has been an annual event since 2017, upon the signing of the PACER Plus Agreement and the Arrangement. However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the PLMAM in 2020 and resolved to a virtual PLMAM in 2021. The 2022 PLMAM will be the first in-person meeting since 2019 and will attract more than 100 participants from around the region to discuss regional labour mobility priorities. The theme of the 2022 PLMAM is “Reinvigorating Labour Mobility Cooperation for Development” and is an opportunity for Pacific labour mobility stakeholders to re-engage, reset and re-commit to advancing effective regional cooperation. This level of cooperation is particularly important as the development impact of labour mobility are mostly contingent on the policies and conditions in both labour receiving and sending countries. Improved cooperation is therefore crucial to ensuring that an enabling labour mobility environment is created to support sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development for the Pacific. The 2022 PLMAM is anticipated to generate stimulating inclusive dialogues on current labour mobility issues and priorities. More importantly, it is anticipated to identify regional solutions and concrete actions for 2023/24. The PLMAM is funded by the Governments of Australia and New Zealand and is facilitated by the PACER Plus Implementation Unit which exists as the Labour Mobility Secretariat that supports the implementation of the PACER Plus Arrangement on Labour Mobility. More articles like this one