THE Fiji Commerce & Employers Federation (FCEF) is wary of yet another round of labour shortage as the Ministry of Employment, Productivity & Workplace Relations opens up registrations for the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) and New Zealand Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) today.
FCEF chief executive officer Edward Bernard has called on Government to “prioritise Fiji’s local labour market needs first by developing strategies and training programmes in order to ensure local economic and business sustainability.”
“While we applaud the Ministry’s announcement that only those who are unemployed or have no source of income will be eligible to register for the overseas labour mobility schemes, there have been instances where employers have received resignations from staff just to register for the overseas schemes and where staff have left the country for these schemes without tendering their resignations,” Mr Bernard said.
Citing the latest Employment & Unemployment Survey (2023-24), which stated that 18,073 people that are unemployed, Mr Bernard said the Ministry and training institutions “must target this group of individuals for the local labour market first, and then the overseas labour market”.
“Statistics highlighted in the same national survey that is of extreme concern is that in the last eight years, our national unemployment rate has only reduced by 0.10 per cent from 5.50 per cent to 5.40 per cent and our youth unemployment rate has increased by 0.20 per cent from 18.10 per cent to 18.30 per cent.
“Therefore, we must question what developmental impact the overseas labour mobility schemes have had as our people continue to be unemployed, our businesses cannot find local skilled workers and are bringing in foreign workers and our labour market is extremely distorted,” Mr Bernard said.
“These statistics indicate that perhaps we need to focus on addressing the employment and unemployment situation in our country first.
“It further indicates that before we look at prioritizing the labour and skills gaps of other countries, we must ensure that local enterprises and industries are adequately taken care of.”
Mr Bernard urged the Ministry of Employment to conduct their due diligence by cross checking with institutions like the Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) and Fiji Revenue & Customs Service (FRCS) before they open registration, in order to verify that those that register and depart for the overseas schemes are actually not employed.
Minister for Employment Agni Deo Singh told the media at a tripartite workshop underway in Suva this week that only the unemployed will be considered for the labour schemes and that verification of employment with the FNPF will be conducted.
Note: This article was first published on the print version of the Fiji Times dated August 22, 2025