The attraction of seasonal work has lured many Samoans to the farms and orchards of Australia and New Zealand as work for a few months has returns which will never be achieved through work in Samoa.

The lure is so much that Samoa has lost skilled workers such as nurses, teachers, the tourism sector and other industries.

The remittance that has continued to flow through seasonal work has been great and has helped Samoa but there are people out there who will take advantage of the fact that Samoans want to work abroad and make a life for their families.

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (M.C.I.L.) says they have collected receipts which prove that some employment agencies have been charging locals as much as $1000 tala for overseas employment.

This was confirmed by the M.C.I.L Minister, Leatinuu Wayne Sooialo during an interview with the Samoa Observer. He decried that this is one of the major changes that people need to be aware of especially those seeking greener pastures overseas when the new policy is completed and announced.

The agencies involved are the ones that did not go through the M.C.I.L. but were working directly with overseas based companies.

Overseas employment is not limited to just seasonal work. The two agreements which the government has are the Recognised Seasonal Employment (RSE) with New Zealand and the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) which are done through the governments of each of these nations.

The contractors in these programmes are vetted by the government and the selection is done with the help of the government. The companies rarely deal with people themselves.

There is no fee to be paid to any of these companies who are employing the people. So if people have been paying money to get work overseas under these two programmes then it is not allowed and illegal.

It simply means that people are being scammed and some have even paid as much as $1000 tala for something which requires no such fee.

There are scammers out there and they will waste no time to prey on people looking for a better future. Beware of the advertisements on social media which are asking people to pay a fee so they could be employed in a lucrative position overseas.

In most cases, such advertisements are just scams where the scammers are looking for money and they will target hundreds and thousands of people.

That is why we hope the new seasonal work policy which has been handed to the cabinet for deliberation has a way of dealing with such things.

It is imperative that the policy is put to parliament in its earliest sitting and made into a law which will protect people from scammers and also look after the welfare of Samoans when they go and work overseas.

It is believed that all employment agencies will have to go through the M.C.I.L. once the new policy is in place.

According to Leatinuu, the complaint from the Chamber of Commerce on such issues is being addressed.

The Chamber of Commerce has been vocal about losing workers to seasonal work. This is a pressing issue as well. Many times local businesses are affected as people tend to depart for seasonal work.

The government has hinted that one of the policies will only allow those un employed for the last six months to go for seasonal work. This step has to be applauded as this protects local businesses and also ensures that skilled workers remain in employment.

For this to happen, the MCIL has to be able to formulate a national register where unemployed Samoans are able to register themselves and the register becomes the means of selecting people for employment abroad.

We have to remember that the seasonal work schemes are central to the Australian and New Zealand’s commitment to build a stronger Pacific family.

It delivers jobs for Pacific workers, enabling them to develop skills, earn income and support their families back home. This also helps create strong links between people, businesses, and communities, fostering deeper connections between Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

Pacific workers help to fill labour gaps in regional and rural Australia and New Zealand, and agriculture nationally. This offers employers access to reliable, productive workers who also contribute to the cultural and economic vibrancy of communities.

Once the policy is approved, we hope it will be readily available for everyone so people can understand it.