Some Fijian seasonal workers in Australia have become an embarrassment, according to Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
Responding to questions on the plight of seasonal workers and their grievances over work conditions, Mr Rabuka said the situation differed in that while some have become successful, others, on a personal level, have caused an embarrassment.
“For me, as Prime Minister, it has been embarrassing,” he said.
“Most of the problems we hear about are problems caused by our workers in Australia, not by the employers and not by the Australian government.
“And that is something that we have to sort out here before they are deployed. That is also very personal. A lot of those things are not national.”
He said this group of workers could not brand the nation with their misbehaviour.
“I have four young men from within the family who are out there, and they have been very responsible to their families here, as well as to their employers in Australia.”
Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles described the seasonal workers program as an important one in terms of the opportunity it represented for the economic development of Fiji and the Pacific.
“We’ve seen really great benefits come from countries in the Pacific that have been able to take up the opportunity of sending people to the seasonal workers program,” he said.
“We continue to monitor how the experience is for those who are in Australia, and it’s a constant process of fine-tuning that and making sure that where there are issues, they are being addressed.
“And we are doing that in respect of those who are working in Australia, and we will continue to do that.”
