The government will limit the number of people deploying for seasonal work because of the labour drain and people engaging in criminal acts, Prime Minister La'aulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt announced Wednesday.

La'aulialemalietoa said seasonal workers have been charged for all sorts of crimes, and are putting a bad reputation for Samoa.

He said 30 people have also died while on seasonal work in Australia and New Zealand.

“There are some of them who are very careless and are now appearing before the court for misconduct, inappropriate behaviour, drug law violations, and similar issues,” he said.

Moreover, the Prime Minister said many nurses, teachers and police officers resigned from their jobs and went under the schemes. He said this has also impacted the tourism sector.

“The government has now established new policies where the district will choose the person to be sent. The government also intends to limit the number of workers at this time. The figures provided by the departments are 3,000 to New Zealand, 3,000 to Australia, and 1,000 to American Samoa," he said.

“There must be a measure to reduce the number of our people going overseas, because there are no workers left to serve our own country. Too many of us are going overseas to develop other countries’ economies, and in the end, we will struggle to find people to develop our own."

La'aulialemalietoa said the selection of seasonal workers will be given to the Fono Faavae under the control of the alii and faipule in each constituency.

"This is to make sure that the right people who deserve to be on this programme are selected,” he added.

Laaulialemalietoa said a report presented to the cabinet on Tuesday showed Australia earned AU$1 billion from the seasonal work schemes, while only 20 per cent went to the Pacific.

 Under the seasonal workers schemes, Samoans are able to work in the horticulture sector for up to seven months in Australia and New Zealand. The scheme in New Zealand is called the Recognised Seasonal Employment Scheme. With Australia, the Pacific Labour Mobility Scheme also allows for longer employment periods of up to three or four years.