The value of remittances that Samoans back home receive per month from family members living and working abroad is staggering. 

Just last month a Central Bank of Samoa (CBS) report (Visitor Earnings and Remittances Report April 2022) revealed how remittances for the month of April 2022 increased by $14.2 million to total $57.5 million. Earlier in February this year another CBS report for December 2021 pointed to a $20.9 million increase for December 2021 to push that month’s total to $79 million.

The increase in the number of Samoan seasonal workers working in either Australia or New Zealand over the last 2–4 years is a major factor behind the rise in remittances being sent back to Samoa. Reports from February this year put the total number of Samoan seasonal workers currently working abroad at around 5,000 – 3,000 in Australia and 2,000 in New Zealand. 

But the seasonal worker scheme has become a double-edged sword for the country in recent years. While our vulnerable economy continues to be kept afloat by the generosity of aiga (family) currently working in Australia and New Zealand, the attraction of being remunerated in Australian or N.Z. dollars has led to a skilled labour shortage in Samoa, with professionals such as teachers and nurses resigning from their jobs to apply to participate in seasonal work.

In April this year the Minister of Commerce Industry and Labour, Leatinu'u Wayne So'oialo raised concerns that his Ministry continued to deploy people despite concerns expressed by organisations such as the Samoa Chamber of Commerce. 

“However, the Ministry keeps pushing through with the normal process and approving more people to be sent overseas,” the Minister said. "Which is a concern for us as it seems like M.C.I.L. refuses to obey the directive from Cabinet and even after receiving three different submissions made by the Samoa Chamber of Commerce, raising concerns of more and more employed people leaving their jobs and professions in Samoa for this programme.”

Therefore, the recent announcement by Minister Leatinu'u, that a Government-created Committee is considering outsourcing the seasonal workers vetting process to Samoa’s 51 districts could be a step in the right direction.

Speaking in the parliament last week during the debate on the 2022-2023 Appropriation Bill, Minister Leatinu'u said the option is to outsource the vetting process to each district using the district council as the point of contact. 

He said if there are 8,000 employment opportunities abroad then each district can offer about 160 of their people, consequently providing an equal opportunity across the board. 

He said the M.C.I.L. can be the main agency that gives the final endorsement, though he acknowledged that there is a lot of paperwork involved, and the Ministry does not generate revenue as the administrators of the scheme in Samoa.

We think it is a brilliant idea to outsource the seasonal workers vetting process to Samoa’s 51 districts: the district councils are in a better position to assess the economic status of individual families. The district councils would pick those who come from families who, based on evidence, lack access to multiple income generation options including short or long-term employment.

And to avoid accusations of favouritism or nepotism, the M.C.I.L. should be the last stage of the vetting process with the Ministry also overseeing a customer or public complaints section.

We believe the concerns raised by the various sectors in Samoa of a skilled labour migration to Australia and New Zealand – via the seasonal workers scheme – would not have been an issue if there was more transparency in the application process overseen by the M.C.I.L. over the years. The recruitment of fully trained professionals such as nurses and teachers, despite them not meeting the criteria of being “unemployed”, could point to corruption in the application process.

The move by the Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (F.A.S.T.) Administration to financially empower Samoa’s 51 districts – through the disbursement of the $1 million district grant annually to each constituency – also puts them in the box seat to have more say on the economic status of their people.

Giving them that responsibility to choose who represents their district in a seasonal worker programme is in itself a form of decentralisation – which after 60 years of Independence confirms Samoa is ready to let simple governance structures at the community-level play an important role in the people’s development.