The Prime Minister of Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka, has indicated that the number of unskilled or semi-skilled workers that come to Australia through the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme could be cut, which could limit an important source of aged care workers amid a labour shortage.
The Fiji Prime Minister said last week that while Fiji is “grateful” the PALM scheme had provided jobs for unemployed and underemployed Fijians, he has spoken to Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about a change in settings, The Herald Sun has reported.
“In our talks, we have looked at ways of improving the lot of workers and perhaps reduce the volume by increasing technical co-operation in our education so that if we maintain the volume, it will be more skilled, a bit more skilled, rather than the semi-skilled or unskilled,” he said.
Back in August, Samoa Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa also raised concerns about their workforce being depleted and indicated a review of participation rules.
She told the ABC that while PALM had been economically valuable for the nation, it was now “feeling the impact of losing our human resources.”
At the end of September 2023, there were 38,247 PALM workers in Australia working across a range of sectors including aged care.
The SOURCE: If the PALM scheme is reduced, that will remove yet another source of overseas workers for Australian aged care providers.
