RESUMPTION OF PACIFIC LABOUR SCHEME (PLS) AND THE SEASONAL WORKERS PROGRAMME (SWP) SCHEME: SEASONAL WORK IN AUSTRALIA

(MCIL); As part of collective efforts to provide employment opportunities for our citizens under the Pacific Labour Scheme and Seasonal Worker Program, Samoa will once again resume with the deployment of more than six hundred (600) workers to Australia commencing from mid-April to May 2021. These will be the first cohorts to Australia from Samoa since April 2020 in the wake of COVID-19, resulting in international travel restrictions and border closures.

The first few flights to Australia will include both new and returning workers, including those who planned to travel in the beginning of 2020 but their travel had been cancelled due to the border closures.

In preparations for departure, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour have been conducting comprehensive Pre-Departure Briefings (PDBs) for all workers to ensure that they are provided with essential and helpful information that they need when they arrive in Australia. It is designed to prepare workers for their living and working in Australia so they know what to expect and can make the most of their experience while in Australia. The training will give them a solid understanding of their rights and responsibilities as an employee, including the visa conditions that they have to meet to stay in Australia and concluded with the health and safety measures in relation to COVID-19.

In addition to the PDBs, we concluded the week with a special session for the Honourable Minister for the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour, Afioga Lautafi Fio Selafi Purcell's address on Friday the 26th April 2021. More than 160 hundred workers attended the session with their family members. The Minister during his speech relayed a strong message to the workers that they are ambassadors of our country, where they need to show respect, behave themselves and perform well for their selected employers. As the result, employers in both Australia will offer more work opportunities for our people to benefit from these labour mobility schemes

Samoa has participated in the SWP Scheme in 2012 and the PLS in 2018 and Samoa's participation in the resumption of these two schemes demonstrates the on-going close partnership between the Government of Australia and the Government of Samoa. Furthermore, it is a reflection of the confidence in Samoa's determination and efforts to facilitate arrangements for the repatriation of its citizens. This is critical as the workers are expected to return home upon completion of their seven (7) months under the SWP and three (3) years employment contracts under the PLS.