Local seasonal work agencies or recruiters are yet to be informed about the amendments to the new policy by the Seasonal Employment Unit, Samoa Observer can reveal.

They are yet to be informed of the new update which will now require agents to pay a SAT$10,000 registration fee in order to recruit locals for the schemes.

Founder of the Falealili Seasonal Workers Programme, Tuatagaloa Joe Annandale who is a well-known recruiter confirmed that he has not been informed yet as a recruiter about the new changes.

"I haven't been informed officially," he said "The only thing I know is what is said in your (Samoa Observer) article about the $10,000 registration fee because that was the day I landed in the country from New Zealand.

"If that's what the government has decided to do then what can I do? I don't know how many other agents will be involved."

Asked about his perspectives about the $10,000 registration fees, Tuatagaloa said he will wait for the official announcement or for local agencies to be called in for the new policy.

"We will wait for an official announcement and that will give us a chance to read into what the requirements are, that will be a chance for us to give our feedback," he said.

Meanwhile, the new policy has been approved by the Cabinet with some of the changes including the recruitment of workers to be handled directly by the District Council Committee as well as a new fee schedule.

In previous interviews with this newspaper, Minister of Public Enterprises, Leatinuu Wayne Sooialo said agents who recruit locals for overseas-based employers are now required to pay a $10,000 registration fee under the new policy.

“These are the people that we believe are benefiting from this,” he added.

He added that the employers can no longer go directly to villages and recruit their workers as they will have to pay an annual registration of $10,000 under the policy implemented by the Ministry of Finance for the programme. 

“This way each district will have a fair number of people that can go under the scheme to avoid the current practice where one district has more people than the other," he said.

The seasonal work unit which was previously under the Ministry of Commerce Industry and Labour (M.C.I.L.) has been moved and will become a fully-fledged division under the Ministry of Finance (M.O.F.).

Following the reshuffling of the cabinet portfolios last month, Leatinuu said the M.C.I.L. doesn’t have the budget and manpower to manage the schemes.