600 Samoan Seasonal Workers Bound for Australia

Some of the  workers with contracts to work in Australia for up to three years.

APIA, SAMOA – 29 MARCH 2021: Six hundred Samoan workers will leave for work in Australian between mid-April and May this year. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour said these will be the first workers from Samoa to Australia since the border closures in April 2020 in the wake of COVID-19.

The workers are part of the Pacific Labour Scheme and Seasonal Worker Program.

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.

Family members of some of the workers attending the PDB and the sessions.

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 gave 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, the Minister for the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour, Lautafi Fio Selafi Purcell’s addressed the workers last Friday, 26 March 2021. More than 160 hundred workers attended the session with their family members.

The Minister relayed a strong message to the workers that they are ambassadors for the 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.