Samoa is part of five seasonal employment schemes with Australia and New Zealand. Photo: RNZ / Anusha Bradley
The Samoa government has approved the country's new policy for temporary labour migration to Australia and New Zealand.
It says the amendments are designed to strengthen the seasonal employment initiatives which is benefiting thousands of local family's year in and year out.
Samoa is part of five seasonal employment schemes; Recognised Seasonal Employment (RSE) in NZ, Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS), Seasonal Workers Program (SWP), Pacific Trade Partnership (PTP) In New Zealand, and the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) in NZ.
The changes include:
Ø Increase safe and secure employment opportunities for Samoans that are most vulnerable,
Ø Prioritize the mobilisation of persons that are unemployed, and have been unemployed for a significant period of time (i.e., more than 6 months without employment),
Ø Ensure that the labor mobility opportunities are equally distributed amongst the whole of Samoa (i.e., equal opportunities available by Constituency and Village) through the newly established Constituency Committees,
Ø Involve the Constituency Committees in the vetting of candidates process for the labor mobility schemes,
Ø Ensure workers are appropriately compensated for their services rendered,
Ø Enhance safety measures for workers while they are deployed oversees,
Ø Consolidate and centralize all labor mobility operations through the Government of Samoa, ensuring registration and oversight of all private recruiters, employer companies and/or contractors and workers:
Ø Regulating the operations of private recruiters to ensure equitable and transparent recruitment process and avoiding unethical practices where workers are subject to excessive up-front costs or recruitment fees and recruiting from other districts.
Ø To strengthen oversight of the schemes, all approved employers wishing to recruit from Samoa must first inform the Government (MCIL-LEEP) of its intentions.
Ø To assess the level of obligation on approved employers related to costs of recruitment and mobilization including travel, wage deductions, and pastoral care/housing/utilities.
Ø Strengthening information sharing mechanisms amongst the Governments of Samoa, Australia, and New Zealand, The Employers, And All Other Labor Mobility Stakeholders Involved.
Ø To commit all individual employers and contractors to properly engage in negotiating fair contractual arrangements to include benefits and all other conditions of employment prior to departure.