The management of Starkist tuna cannery in American Samoa has confirmed they've agreed to secure accommodation for guest workers who are recruited from Samoa.

This was confirmed by the Starkist Samoa management team member, Tufuga Fa'afoi Palepua, as reported by local media in American Samoa, Talanei. 

According to media reports, the idea has been supported by the President and Chief Executive Officer of Starkist. 

While Tufuga confirmed with Talanei that they will secure land to build accommodation for their Samoan workers, he could not confirm how long the project will take and when it will start. 

"According to Tufuga, many guest workers experience problems with their host families and having the cannery provide housing for them can address such issues," Talanei reported. "He said some employees complain about host taking their paychecks or not treating them well."

The cannery continues to hire guest workers from Samoa as it can’t find local employees. Currently, the cannery employs 1,355 guest workers from Samoa. This was one of the main concerns raised at the Atoa Samoa bilateral discussions between the two governments.

In October 2022, Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa confirmed that the issue was raised in the first Atoa Samoa meeting held in the U.S. territory and said that the cannery in American Samoa was interested in hiring more guest workers from Samoa. 

However, there was reluctance in Samoa as the accommodation was not included in the package offered for workers, unlike the seasonal worker schemes in both Australia and New Zealand.

Fiame said that they needed to look into some of the concerns her government had before they finalised a decision based on the offer to recruit more Samoan nationals. 

She added that it is evident that people from Samoa who take up the work opportunity with Starkist will have to source their own accommodation either with families in the territory or rental homes.

The Prime Minister was of the view that the scheme is different from the R.S.E. put in place by New Zealand and Australia which has enabled companies to recruit thousands of Samoans.

Fiame said that with the seasonal work schemes the companies that are employing Samoans also provide accommodation while they are working abroad. 

She reiterated that the health and safety of the people remain a top priority, hence why they need to look into the conditions of the offer before they make any decision. 

She did acknowledge the interest from the StarKist Company but at the same time, they need to make sure that the people will be well taken care of when they take on this opportunity. 

The issue was again discussed during the third Atoa Samoa meeting in April this year and the outcome highlighted the issue of workers switching employments upon arrival to the territory. 

"It is widely acknowledged that people are attracted to the higher wage rates in American Samoa," the outcomes of the third Atoa Samoa meeting stated. 

"It is not unusual to find that there is often a diversity of skill sets amongst those that are recruited such as electricians, and mechanics who are then placed in appropriate jobs within the company and not necessarily on the cannery floor.

"Often when workers want to switch employment, they are advised to retain their sponsors and notify the Immigration Board.

"Requests for more workers are anticipated in the near future but must follow the endorsed procedures for recruitment through both governments."