Villages will not be emptied by the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme (PALM).
This was highlighted by the Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations, Youth and Sports, Parveen Kumar Bala, while bidding farewell to 108 selected Fijian workers under the scheme this week.
Minister Bala highlighted that these comments were made by some individuals without contemplating the benefits it brings to Fijian families and their communities.
"This scheme will improve living standards for the families of the selected workers and it is the current Fijian Government's initiative towards alleviating poverty."
"The scheme has caused transformation and empowered Fijian families to have improved living standards through better homes, support for their children's education, financial assistance towards community projects such as the construction of community halls and churches and the establishment of small businesses in the community, to name a few," said Bala.
"Also this initiative will minimize rural to-urban drift for employment opportunities in our towns and cities as these workers continue to develop their community through remittances received, " he added.
"The PALM Scheme under the Vuvale partnership with the Australian Government has enormously contributed to Fiji's sustainable economic recovery due to the COVID-19 pandemic.