Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment
PO Box 2216, Government Buildings, Suva 4th Floor, Civic House
Phone: (679) 331 4451Fax: (679) 330 4701
Website: www.labour.gov.fj

SPEECH

FOREIGN EMPLOYMENT SERVICE LAUNCH MINISTER FOR LABOUR, INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND EMPLOYMENT MR. JONE USAMATE

Members of the Diplomatic Corp,
Members of the National Employment Centre Board,
Permanent Secretaries, Commissioners and Representatives from Government Ministries,
Representatives of Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation and Fiji Trade Union Congress,
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

Today is a very special day because it marks the public launching of the Foreign Employment Services (FORES), an Employment Creation Service established under the National Employment Centre (NEC) Decree 2009. It is particularly special to our current and future workforce, given the foreign employment opportunities that will be facilitated through the Foreign Employment Service.

Statement by the Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment, Mr. Jone Usamate in the FORES Launch, GPH, 2nd July 2014

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The NEC Decree 2009 was Government’s direct response to the ILO’s Global Job Pact that was endorsed at the International Labour Conference in 2009 where member nations’ tripartite constituents of the ILO committed to put in place global, regional and national employment creation strategies to counter the growing unemployment

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resulting from the global financial and economic crisis. The Global Job Pact promotes a productive recovery centred on investments, employment and social protection. It proposes job-centred policies for countries to adapt according to their national needs. In short, the Pact is about promoting jobs and protecting people, about responding to both the people’s agenda and the needs of the real economy.

As part of the national commitment under the Global Job Pact, the Fijian Government, through the Ministry of Labour, has designed the policy and legal framework of the NEC Decree to be aimed at providing a national “one-stop” employment centre to up-skill the unemployed and facilitate their employment with local and overseas employers as trainees, attaches, workers or as volunteers. In this way, our unemployed population and job seekers are provided the opportunity to be trained and build their capacities, realize their potential and empower them to make a difference in life and to that of others, and contribute to national wealth creation. To continuously improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our services to the unemployed, the governance and operational management system of the NEC is benchmarked to the ISO 9001: 2008 Quality Management System. This is a legal requirement under the NEC Decree. Currently, we are working with the ILO, ADB and the Ministry of Strategic Planning, including the NEC Board, to develop Fiji’s first National Employment Policy to better integrate the current and activate the new employment creation initiatives at the macroeconomic and microeconomic levels.

The FORES is one of the four employment Services established under the NEC Decree 2009. The other three Services are the Formal Employment Services, the Fiji Volunteer Services and the Self-Employment Services. The Formal Employment Service was publically launched together with the NEC in 2009. The Fiji Volunteer Services, which is hosted by the Public Service Commission, was successfully launched by the Prime Minister in 2012. All these four employment services have both generic and specific functions to build the capacity of the unemployed and to place them into sustainable employment. The Formal Employment Service and the Self-Employment Service Statement by the Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment, Mr. Jone Usamate in the FORES Launch, GPH, 2nd July 2014
focused on local employment creation opportunities while the Fiji Volunteer Services (operating under the Fiji Public Service Commission) and the Foreign Employment Services provides the bridge for foreign employment opportunities to our people.
The primary goal of the Foreign Employment Service is to provide quality human resource development service to unemployed persons and retirees to facilitate their absorption into decent overseas employment and alleviate poverty in Fiji. In this manner, our people can also acquire new skills and experiences that would add more value to their lives and families and contribute to national productivity.

To achieve this goal, the FORES provides quality foreign employment services which include aptitude assessment, counselling sessions, life skills training, employment skills training and pre-departure orientation training to the unskilled, semi-skilled or skilled unemployed persons and retirees, and facilitate their recruitment into the foreign employment market.
The Foreign Employment Service also liaises with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to ensure that it abides with relevant international treaties and protocols that bind the Government.

After registration, aptitude and counseling sessions, the Foreign Employment Services is designated and established under the NEC Decree 2009 to provide:-
a) Life skills training - the delivery of quality life skills training course compatible with the overseas employment needs of unemployed persons and retirees, which is recognized under the Fiji National Qualification Framework. The training objective is to promote the holistic development of unemployed persons and retirees enabling them to become disciplined and productive foreign employment workers, and be good ‘ambassadors’ for Fiji.
b) Employment skills training - the delivery of quality employment skills training course compatible with the foreign employment needs of unemployed persons and retirees, which is recognized under the Fiji National Qualification Framework.
Statement by the Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment, Mr. Jone Usamate in the FORES Launch, GPH, 2nd July 2014

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The training objective is to develop generic and specific employment knowledge and skills that are relevant to the needs of unemployed persons and retirees and the demands of the targeted foreign employment markets.
c) Pre-departure orientation training - the delivery of quality pre-departure training to effectively orientate persons successfully recruited to commence foreign employment contracts.
The FORES has been operating in the Labour Ministry since 2013, providing advice and raising awareness to the general public on the development role of the Service, including the legal requirements and minimum conditions of employment associated with foreign employment contracts. As part of its networking role, the FORES is closely liaising with private employment agencies, local employers’ organizations, overseas employers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, including overseas embassies in providing effective management and supervision of all foreign employment contracts to ensure the achievement of quality outcomes from the scheme for the participants and overseas employers.

Today, we will witness another milestone of the Fijian Government Initiative to publicly launch the Foreign Employment Services. The Logo represents that the FORES is one of the core employment services established under the NEC Framework. The Slogan “A World of Employment Opportunities” represents that our people are ready to participate in this lucrative global opportunities.

As I speak, there are 21 Fijian workers already employed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and 4 in Canada with an additional 21 workers to depart soon for Canada through the FORES initiative. We actually have with us today; Mr. Rusiate Waqa (who travelled from the North to be present today), who is one of the additional 21 workers who have acquired their Canadian work visas and awaiting his travel date. You can also see on the screen before you the pictures of those that have left for the Canadian work assignments. Since the establishment of FORES in 2013, we have engaged, processed and successfully placed a total of 75 Fijians in foreign employment contracts.
Statement by the Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment, Mr. Jone Usamate in the FORES Launch, GPH, 2nd July 2014

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At the same time through the Fiji Volunteer Services, under the leadership of the Public Service Commission, to date we have successfully engaged, processed and placed a total of 36 overseas volunteers to the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. I also acknowledge with appreciation the goodwill and good faith accorded to us by the ambassadors and Governments of Marshall Islands, Nauru, Tuvalu and Vanuatu for the labour mobility access to their countries in the spirit of regional cooperation. I also specially acknowledge the leadership of the Prime Minister, ably supported by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and respective Permanent Secretaries in spearheading the access of our volunteers to regional countries through multilateral and bilateral agreements. A special thanks to the US Embassy which provided the technical assistance through their Peace Corp specialist that was attached with the Public Service Commission during the establishment stages of the Fiji Volunteer Service in 2012.

I hope to see an increased number of Fijians to participate in our regional labour mobility schemes, such as within the MSG Countries under the MSG Labour Mobility Scheme. The MSG labour mobility scheme is a wonderful opportunity to encourage more understanding, integration and sharing of ideas and knowledge among the people in Melanesia.

I take this opportunity to thank each and every diplomatic representative for your assistance in promoting the access of our people to work in your country. As part of our employment creation strategy under FORES, the Fijian Government appreciates any opportunity to allow our people to participate in any labour mobility scheme that is win- win between our countries, decent, clearly targeted and managed professionally. On this note, the Fijian Government acknowledged with appreciation the offer by the New Zealand Government to explore the opportunities for our people to participate in seasonal work scheme in New Zealand. Through the facilitation of the Acting Head of Mission – NZ High Commission Mr. Ramsden, I will be leading a team from my Ministry to New Zealand next week to observe and have a first-hand experience of the seasonal workers scheme. I recalled that in the 1970’s & 1980’s we used to run the Statement by the Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment, Mr. Jone Usamate in the FORES Launch, GPH, 2nd July 2014

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seasonal workers scheme with New Zealand through our Ministry of Labour. I look forward to this very positive development and to a positive outcome of the visit to New Zealand next week. We hope that our big brother Australia will follow suit soon.
As we are all aware, Remittance is the second largest foreign exchange earner in Fiji and most of the other Pacific Island Economies depend on it. We now live in a global village and likewise, we need to professionally process, prepare, train and monitor our people sent for work in the global labour market which also has inherent risks of exploitation, forced labour and trafficking. Therefore, it is important that our policy and Standard Operating Systems must be benchmarked to relevant international standards and best practices. In this regard, we have lifted the quality standards of our service under FORES which are conforming to the ISO 9001: 2008 Quality Management System. For international recognition, we are targeting for FORES to be ISO 9001 certified in December this year or early next year to ensure that the way we prepare people for the global employment market is undertaken with the highest professional standard in order to secure the best outcomes to the individual worker and the nation.

I believe our people have the natural ability to blend well with other cultures and environment to be able to contribute positively in the global labour market. This is evident from the many success stories over the years from our own Military Officers serving in the Middle East and other war theatres of the world, our hospitality workers and care givers to name a few.

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The NEC’s strategic objective is to assist Government to reduce unemployment from 8.6% in 2007 to 4.2% by 2015. The Employment and Unemployment Survey conducted in 2011 by the Bureau of Statistics indicated that our unemployment rate had dropped from 8.6% to 6.9%. Unemployment is a major social problem globally; therefore it requires global and regional solutions and commitments in addition to national initiatives such as the NEC. The launch of FORES today marked another milestone for the Fijian Government in its national commitment to promote employment for our unemployed people and alleviate poverty. However, our FORES initiative can only be
Statement by the Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment, Mr. Jone Usamate in the FORES Launch, GPH, 2nd July 2014

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successful if the international and regional communities provide labour mobility access to our people. The recent experiences of the global financial crisis bring to our attention this global social challenge that requires global and regional solutions.
On this note, I sincerely thank each and everyone for coming to witness this historic milestone as we publicly launch Fiji’s Foreign Employment Service. We look forward that you will continue to support this noble initiative.

VINAKA VAKALEVU. DHANYA VAAD THANK YOU

Hon. Jone Usamate
Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment
Statement by the Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment, Mr. Jone Usamate in the FORES Launch, GPH, 2nd July 2014