Suva, 17 Oct (Xinhua) -- In recent years, the governments of Australia and New Zealand have actively promoted labor mobility programs for the Pacific region, attracting a large number of workers from Pacific island countries, including Fiji. While it is true that the migration to "rich neighbors" has significantly increased Fijian remittance incomes, the massive outflow of labour has exacerbated labour market shortages in this developing country, severely hampering economic development. In addition, social problems such as family breakdown and treatment discrimination caused by the mass outflow of labor cannot be ignored.
Economic development has been hit
Over the past two years, Fiji has experienced a massive wave of emigration, with an average of more than 40,000 more people leaving the country each year. For this Pacific island nation, with a total population of only about 890,000, this is a cause for alarm.
The main driver behind this mass migration is the attractive employment and education opportunities offered by "rich neighbours" Australia and New Zealand. According to the United Nations, Australia and New Zealand are the main destinations for Fijian citizens to move abroad, accounting for more than 60 per cent of Fijian's diaspora in these two countries. Australia and New Zealand eased visa requirements during the pandemic to address labour shortages and expanded labour mobility programmes for the Pacific, namely the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme and New Zealand's Seasonal Employers (RSE) scheme. These policies have opened the door for Fijians, especially young Fijians, to go abroad in pursuit of development.
However, while Australia and New Zealand have alleviated their labour shortages with the help of migrants from their Pacific "poor neighbors" such as Fiji, Fiji is experiencing a severe labour and brain drain. Today, the Fijian government is aware of the seriousness of the problem and is working to address the impact of the labour loss on the country's economic and social development.
Fiji's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Prasad said at the Parliament that at least 70,000 Fijian citizens emigrated overseas between October 2022 and March this year, leading to a reduction in government tax revenues, economic activity, spending power and an exacerbation of labour shortages. According to him, at least 10 per cent of Fiji's formal labour force has moved to Australia, New Zealand, construction, manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, ...... There is a massive brain drain in almost every industry.
According to the Fiji Water Authority, about 950 water technicians have lost over the past four years; According to the Fijian Ministry of Health, 417 doctors, nurses and allied health professionals resigned in the second half of last year alone to pursue careers abroad; According to data from the Fiji Ministry of Education, about 900 teachers applied for short-term study abroad last year, and less than half of them returned as scheduled......
Fiji's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Trade Cooperation and Small and Medium Enterprises, Kamikamiga, said: "As far as the labour market is concerned, we are facing a crisis. This is a reality and a tragedy. ”
Social problems are emerging
The governments of Australia and New Zealand have described the labour mobility scheme as a "win-win-win" situation for workers, labour exporters and labour importers, emphasizing that the schemes can bring economic benefits to Pacific Island workers, remittances to their communities and countries, and flexible labour for Australian and New Zealand employers.
However, the Australian and New Zealand governments have downplayed the so-called "win-win-win" scheme, and there is little documentation and authoritative data to show that these plans have benefits beyond economic benefits. On the contrary, workers from Pacific island countries face numerous injustices in labor-importing countries, while labor-exporting countries face social problems related to employment instability.
UNICEF reports show that while remittance revenues from labour mobility programmes generate economic benefits, mismanagement of these funds often leads to inadequate family support and relationship tensions. The report notes an increase in domestic violence, child neglect and abuse among migrant families in the Pacific. The report also reveals the social costs of labour mobility, including family breakdown, exploitation, social isolation, and lack of care for families.
Fiji's Minister for Women, Children and Social Security, Tabuya, said statistics show that five out of every six children in Fiji are abused or neglected by the family. "There has been a significant increase in the number of children in Fiji who lack the care of their parents or guardians due to labour mobility."
Fiji's Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations Manmohan Singh believes that Australia's and New Zealand's Pacific labour mobility plans have not only led to a "severe shortage" of professionals in Fiji's labour market, but also caused a number of social problems. "Unfortunately, labor-importing countries have not helped us in any way."
In June, Fijian citizen Christina · Levelaj, who held a PALM visa, died of illness in Australia. Her relatives in Australia subsequently took to social media, accusing the PALM program of being "modern slavery", full of exploitation, bullying and racism. Leverage's death illustrates serious systemic problems in Australia's immigration and labour system, where labour is treated as expendable with little protection or support.
Levelagi's relatives stressed the need for Australia to reform its labour visa system to provide real protection for the Pacific island workforce and ensure they are treated with dignity.
Measures treat the symptoms but do not cure the root causes
The Government of Fiji has taken steps to address the severe shortage of staff in the country's labour market. A key measure is to raise the retirement age for civil servants from 60 to 62 in order to retain experienced staff in the public sector and to fill the gap left by the emigration of young people. In addition, the Fijian Government is considering recruiting more foreign workers and implementing policies to encourage expatriates to return to their home countries for investment.
However, analysts see these measures as a temporary solution. The labour outflow reflects the deeper economic and social challenges facing Fiji, such as limited employment prospects and declining wages. To meet this challenge, the Fijian government must implement effective policies to attract talent, provide vocational skills training and development opportunities, and appropriately control the scale of labour exports.
Second, the Fijian government needs to weigh the short-term economic benefits of labour mobility against the social costs it incurs. While the labour mobility scheme has brought some skills and remittance income to Fiji, the benefits far outweigh the high social costs associated with it, such as direct or indirect damage in areas such as culture, customs, the environment, health care, education, etc.
According to a UN report, Fiji has become the largest source of labour for Australia's PALM program. As of June this year, Australia had 6,379 Fijian workers entering under the PALM scheme. Despite this, Fiji does not impose any restrictions on the number of people who can participate in the ANZ Labour Mobility Programme. Samoa, a South Pacific island nation in a similar situation, has made it clear that no more than 6,000 workers can travel to Australia and New Zealand each year.
According to the World Bank, Fiji's remittances in 2023 amounted to US$560 million, an increase of 20.4% from 2022, accounting for 10.2% of Fiji's gross domestic product. In addition, remittances are less affected by the economic cycle and are a relatively stable source of foreign exchange, so the Fijian government has not yet issued a policy to limit the scale of labor exports, so as not to have a direct impact on remittance income.
Fiji's Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations, Manmohan Singh, explained: "As a developing country, no matter what we do, we cannot stop our people from finding better opportunities, greener pastures, and better lives for their families. ”