“FIJI has people. Fiji has workers. What we need now is a system that puts our people first, supports them to work locally, and ensures that foreign workers are brought in only where there is a genuine skills gap – not to replace our own.”
That was the call by former parliamentarian and lawyer Niko Nawaikula as questions grow over Fiji’s reliance on imported labour while thousands of locals are sent overseas under formal work schemes.
“It doesn’t make sense,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
“We are sending thousands of our own people to Australia and New Zealand under schemes like PALM (Pacific Australia Labour Mobility) and Vuvale/RSE to do farm work, fruit picking, cleaning, aged care, and more… yet right here in Fiji, we are importing foreign workers – including from countries like Bangladesh, India, China, and the Philippines – to do things like cut sugar cane, drive buses, and do general labour. Why?”
Citing government figures, he said more than 15,000 Fijians were employed in Australia and New Zealand under PALM and RSE.
“The PALM program alone has surged by more than 2200 per cent, from just 266 workers in 2019 to more than 10,500 this year. Yet at the same time, employers in Fiji are turning to foreign workers for even low-skilled jobs such as cane cutting, bus driving and general labour.”
He said under the Immigration Act 2003, permits should only be issued where skills are unavailable locally.
He called for rural employment programs, upskilling, fair wages and better recruitment systems so Fijians could take up jobs at home.
