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