Workers schemes and cooperation with international countries benefiting Fiji

Last week it was reported that 60 more Fijians were needed to fill the gap in employment in Australia’s beef industry. This number is not only indicative of the positive ongoing bilateral relations Fiji has with the neighbouring island continent, but is also an indication of a healthy remittance to the country yet to come.

Harvey Beef, based in Perth, Western Australia, began its interviews with those who had registered with the National Employment Centre (NEC) for employment opportunities under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme.

Already, hundreds of Fijians have, over past two years, benefitted under the scheme in other industries in Australia, thanks to the scheme.

They have, without doubt, sent money back home to their loved ones.

Individually, the benefits of receiving remittance from a loved one or friend overseas, means that you can pay your rent, pay for your food and other essentials.

It can also mean you can pay off your loan, start up your business or perhaps revive it and improve it. This brings us to the economic benefits of remittance.

Remittances make critical contributions to households and national incomes, according to an article by Lowy Institute.

The Reserve Bank of Fiji released its April Economic Review highlighting: “On a positive note, inward personal remittances increased (5.7 per cent) to $205.4 million in the year to March, of which $63.0 million was received via mobile network operators.

“The increasing demand for Fiji’s labour under the seasonal worker schemes is expected to augur well for inward remittances going forward.”

An economy operates on the back of payments, be it through manual or electronic payment, says RBF, and remittance is just one aspect of how it can have an impact to economic growth.

According to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) Working Paper, there is empirical evidence that remittances contribute to economic growth, through their positive impact on consumption, savings, and investment.

Yet while remittance is seen as perhaps an immediate answer to an emergency, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is also a downside.

Remittances can also have negative impact on growth in recipient countries by reducing incentives to work, and therefore reducing labour supply or labour force participation, says IMF.

But we can also rest assured that RBF’s review highlights labour demand had picked up in the first quarter of the year.

“Labour market conditions have been continuously improving, with new jobs advertised increasing (168.1 per cent to 1742 jobs) in the year to March, owing to improved recruitment intentions across all industries, but particularly higher for the tourism and service-related sectors,” RBF said.

“Notably, the number of job opportunities in the month of March 2022 (1021 jobs) was the highest since March 2020, bolstered by higher recruitment intentions in the Western Division.”