THE Labour Mobility Unit (LMU) within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade acknowledges the concerns raised by the Member of Parliament for West Makira, Hon Derick Manuari on perceived irregularities within the Labour Mobility Scheme.
The LMU strives to ensure our processes is fair, transparent, providing equitable opportunities for all candidates. Our process so far has gained employers’ confidence, allowing our numbers to grow over the years.
The Labour Mobility Unit and its partner government departments has in place a process which has served the Solomon Islands Labour Mobility work since the start of both the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme and New Zealand’ Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Scheme.
From 2008-2024, a total of 8,203 workers have worked in Australia under PALM with the RSE accounting for 8,501 workers from 2017-2024.
The LMU values its relationship with other government agencies who are in a better position to respond to reports of fraud, documentation of certificates or Police clearance. We encourage those with evidence of wrong-doing to report it to our office or relevant partners within the LMU process.
We would also like to clarify that selection of workers is done by Approved Employers, each industry with a different list of specific criteria and with that, LMU does not have the final decision on who gets selected to participate in the Labour Mobility Programs.
On the current process of selection, all candidates are interviewed and screened into the Solomon Islands Government work ready pool. They are then given equal opportunity to be selected by employers.
Here, LMU puts forward application profiles to employers, who then makes the final selection of workers based on industry needs.
Accessing the Labour Mobility Programs is free, there is no fee paid to licensed agents or any LMU staff. Money is only paid to services providers, passport, police clearance, panel doctors for medical screening.
The recent comments by Hon Manuari and apparent feedback by the public, reiterates our continuous call for those concerned to report irregularities within our process to assist in improving our systems. If any candidate has submitted questionable documents, please report that and allow us to carry out necessary reviews, verification and investigation.
PRESS RELEASE
