Employment Minister Agni Deo Singh says about $39 million a month is injected into Fiji in remittances through the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme.
Speaking to The Fiji Times on Friday he said this was noted during a meeting he had with Australian High Commissioner to Fiji Ewen McDonald.
“I had a meeting with the Australian High Commissioner just yesterday (Thursday), and what we noted was that we are getting something like $39m a month in remittances through the PALM scheme,” Mr Singh said.
“This is quite a substantial sum so, both countries are working together to ensure that the scheme works.
“It works in the mutual interest of our workers and their employers and also the two economies.”
Mr Singh said a recent 11-day visit to Australia allowed him to visit Fijian PALM workers, and their employers, and discuss on issues raised from both parties.
“Issues like overcrowded accommodations, non-payment of overtime were raised with me during the meeting,” he said.
“Superannuation is an issue because there is a taxation on that. Now FNPF (Fiji National Provident Fund) is almost there in terms of getting our office and for them to be able to deduct directly and send their remittances to FNPF.
“We know that there are minimum standards that must be met, so we have also met with the Minister for Employment in Australia, the honourable Tony Burke and also the Department of Foreign Assistance and Trade representatives.
“We want to make sure that our workers are treated fairly and at the same time, we also want to make sure that the employers are getting the value that they expect. So, it’s a balancing act.”
Mr Singh also said another liaison officer would begin work in the coming months, making it a total of four liaison officers for the Fiji PALM workers.
