A proposed policy addressing the selection process for residents applying for seasonal work in New Zealand and Australia is tabled before Cabinet.
One of the key recommendations will be initial application, screening, and selection to be administered by the 51 respective District Development Offices before they are submitted to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labor, (M.C.I.L.) for final review.
Savali reported the new approach is one of the proposed changes prescribed by a Cabinet appointed Committee, chaired by M.C.I.L. Minister Leatinu’u Wayne So’oialo to research and submit a policy plan recommending guidelines to ensure that the RSE genuine objective exclusively for the unemployed only is not compromised.
Secondly, the policy is designed to protect the interests and welfare of local businesses from losing skilled labor to the Seasonal Workers lucrative high salary attraction.
The policy proposal also includes guidelines of Mcriteria for the District Development Offices to implement their selection process.
One criteria to be eligible to apply is for the applicant to be a registered voter of the Electoral Constituency which he is applying from, said Leatinu’u. Confirmation is also compulsory from the Samoa National Provident Fund that the applicant is not a contributor or have not paid his Fund contributions for 6 consecutive months.
A police report is also compulsory and if the applicant has a record, his application will be denied. Leatinu’u admits that it’s publicly documented and evidenced by Social Media posts that full time teachers and police officers have resigned from their job to take up seasonal employment which defeats the mandate of the RSE initiative for the unemployed only period.
Without going into details out of respect for the Cabinet decision making integrity, the Minister says that District Development Offices and Village Councils (Pulega Ali’i ma Faipule) are also recommended to take charge and responsibility in handling cases involving Samoan workers returned home for violation of their seasonal working contracts. But it’s crucial that these decisions are relayed to the M.C.I.L. to ensure that there is fairness and equal opportunity for the benefactors especially people in the districts needing employment to support their families.
“The policy is giving ownership to the villages to ensure a fair selection process and the RSE mandates are not manipulated or violated,” reiterated Leatinu’u. Full details of the new RSE Policy are expected to be revealed at the completion of the Cabinet scrutiny.
SOURCE: Government Media
