PNG Seasonal Worker Scheme

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PNG Seasonal Worker Scheme

• Presentation
• By
• Mr. Alexis Maino
• Deputy Secretary (Operations), DFAT and
• Chairman, Papua New Guinea Seasonal Worker
  Taskforce

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Papua New Guineas location within the Australia
Oceania Continent
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Background

• April 2008, PNG asked to be included in the
  Australias Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme
  (PSWPS)
• PNG/Australia Joint Working Group established
  after Madang PNG/Australia Ministerial Forum
• August 2008, Australian Prime Minister agreed to
  include PNG with Vanuatu, Kiribati Tonga
• PNG Seasonal Worker Taskforce established and
  Chaired by DFAT

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Overview of PSWPS

• The PSWPS is for 3 years involving 2,500
  (estimated 650 visa for PNG)
• PNG Seasonal Workers travel to Australia
  commencing October 2009.
• November 2008 - Australia signs MOU FA with
  Tonga, Vanuatu Kiribati
• First reviewed of the pilot scheme concluded in
  July 2010 without PNGs participation
• July 2010 - PNG/Australia signs MOU
  Facilitation Arrangements (MOUFA)

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Institutional coordination mechanism for PNG

• 1. DFAT is the lead coordination department in
  collaboration with the Department of Labour
  Industrial Relations
• 2. PNG SW Ministerial Oversight Committee Chaired
  by Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade
  Immigration
• 3. PNG Seasonal Worker Taskforce Chaired by
  Deputy Secretary (Operations), DFAT
• 4. PNG SW Coordination Offices in Port Moresby
  Sydney, Australia is co-jointly managed by DFAT
  and DLIR
• Department for Community Development DPGLLG to
  co-jointly prepare and assist Post-return workers
  to reinvest repatriated funds at their respective
  home Districts
• District coordination involving stakeholders
  communities

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PNGSW Coordination Office

1. Market research and marketing
2. Developing program awareness and advertising
3. Developing work-ready pool
4. Liaison with interested employers in Australia
5. Liaison with Australian Government
6. Worker selection
7. Assist pre-departure paper work and clearance
8. Pre-departure orientation
9. Pastoral care and protection of workers rights
10. Post-return worker assistance
11. Data management, analysis and reporting
12. Strategic planning and management

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Expected division of responsibilities between
Departments

1. Government relations, marketing, pastoral care
   MFATI and DFAT
2. Worker protection, employment contract
   verification, labour laws, recruitment management
   and labour data DLIR
3. Provincial and District level institutional
   relations and selection system, post-return
   worker assistance DCfD and DPLFA
4. Public awareness design, Pre-departure
   orientation design and delivery All Agencies
   (Taskforce)

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NEC Decision No. 81/2009

1. PNG Government approved PNGs participation in
   the Australias PSWPS and New Zealands
   Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme (RSE)
2. Approved K5.8 million funding to be managed thru
   a Trust Account - PF(M) Act 1995
3. Direct Dept. Finance, Treasury and DNPDD to
   integrate annual funding for PNG seasonal worker
   program as an recurrent activity budget
   appropriation
4. Establish Coordination Offices in Port Moresby
   and Sydney and transfer to DLIR (after the pilot
   period)
5. Establish PNG labour sending arrangement in
   collaboration with DLIR

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NEC Decision No. 146 of 2010

1. PNG approved MOUFA and authorised MFATI to sign
   for PNG
2. In July 2010, Foreign Ministers of two Countries
   signed the MOUFA in Alotau, Milne Bay P
3. Direct Heads of DPLGA and DCfD to co-jointly
   establish Inter-Agency Working Group to assist
   and guide post-return workers to reinvest
   (repatriated funds) in productive activities in
   their home Districts
4. IAWG program Heads to report progress to NEC

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Key strategies and activities endorsed in NEC
Decision No. 146 of 2010

• Priority Tasks for 2011

Outcome Activity Responsibility
Funding of K5.8 million Signing of Trust Instrument Establishment of Trust Account and Mobilizing Funds and Integration into annual budget appropriations Minister for Finance Treasury, DF, DT, DNPDD, DFAT
Establishment of PNG Seasonal Worker Coordination Offices Establish a fully operational office in Port Moresby and Sydney DLIR, DFAT and Department of Treasury
PNG Workers to participate in the New Zealand RSE Funding to prepare and Market PNG workers under RSE MFATI and DFAT
Establish Taskforce for Return Workers Draft a Terms of Reference Cost Projections for NEC approval and Integrated District Development Plan involving return workers DLIR and DFAT
World Bank Report and International Organization for Migration (IOM) Institutional Strengthening Project, Capacity Building Project and Technical Assistance DFAT, DLIR and DNPDD
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PNGSW Trust Account and release of funding
critical for PNG to success as labour sending
country

1. Establishment of Trust Account remains critical
2. Release of funds on time absolutely necessary
   now
3. Hon. Peter ONeill, MP approved K2 million out of
   K5.8 million in October 2010 (K1 million approved
   on Thursday 24/02/2011)
4. PNG participation in PSWPS placed in jeopardy
5. PNG workers must participate to be evaluated in
   PSWPS before the pilot scheme expire 31 December
   2011
6. PNG has no experience in labour sending program
   competing with other established Pacific Island
   States

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Proposal from MADEC an Approved Australian
Employer received by PNG

1. Propose to select and recruit 10 out of 20 PNG
   seasonal workers
2. Region Robinvale in Victoria, Australia for a
   period of four (4) months work pruning almond
   trees
3. Timeline Selection concluded by 20 April 2011
4. Pre-departure Orientation Seminar PNGSWT, DEEWR,
   Aus-AID and MADEC from 2nd to 6th May 2011
5. Return to PNG Mid-September 2011
6. PNG worker will be paid minimum AU19.00 per hr _at_
   48 hrs per week (average) for 4 months ONLY.

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Australia proposes changes to MOUFA to enable
PNG to participate

• Pursuant to Clause 13 of MOUFA, the Secretary
  DFAT can consent to changes to FA PNG Dip. Note
• The changes are as follows
• PNG worker guarantee 30 hrs per week for 6 months
• PNG worker guarantee 35 hrs per week for 5
  months
• PNG worker guarantee 38 hrs per week for 4 months
• International fares reduced from 50/50 to 45/55
  to be paid by employer and deduct from worker (45
  precent)
• AU100 for internal transfer (airport to
  accommodation) and deduct from workers earning
  later

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PNG Labour Sending Arrangements

• Importance of Seasonal Worker Export for PNG
• Acquisition of employment skills, work ethics,
  savings by workers
• Reduce urban drift in PNG
• Promote reinvestment of worker remittance into
  productive areas in districts of workers
• Promote horticulture in districts of worker
  origin through collaboration with Australian
  horticulture sector
• Ensuring equity of spread of benefits from all
  regions of the country
• Policy Considerations
• Est. 31 percent of people aged 15 or over have no
  cash income earning activity
• Est. 50,000 young people leave school each year
  formal sector absorb only a small proportion
• Population growth rate is high and predicted to
  double by 2026

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PNG Legal Framework and Regulation

1. MOUFA negotiated with Australia in 2008 and
   concluded in 2010
2. NEC Decision No. 81/2009 authorise PNG to
   negotiate a similar MOUFA with New Zealand
3. Employment Placement Services Act, 1966 (Chapter
   172) need urgent review by DLIR
4. DLIR - Labour Market Information System and Data
   management system welcomed by Taskforce
5. PNGSW Taskforce sought World Bank International
   Organization for Migration (IOM) to assist PNG
   (National Employment Division) with its
   institutional strengthening and capacity building
   Technical Support funding
6. Holiday Worker Scheme and Student Holiday Scheme
   need to be concluded soon with Australia New
   Zealand by DFAT

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PNG seasonal worker eligibility, screening and
selection criteria

• The eligibility criteria are-
• minimum Grade 10 - 12, preferably with an
  appropriate vocational training certificate
• have a working knowledge of English language
• be of good health (fit for work) and good
  character (no criminal conviction)
• be unemployed at the material time
• be within the age bracket from 21 to 45 years
• Marital status married (spouse consent required)
• commitment to return to the community with a
  goal for family and community development

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PNG seasonal worker eligibility, screening and
selection criteria

• The eligibility criteria continue-
• 7. be a citizen and is a resident in Papua New
  Guinea.
• 8. Commitment to return to PNG after work in
  Australia
• 9. Medical check clearance (TB, Diabetes,
  HIV/AIDS, etc.) require hospital in Australia

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Selection and Recruitment

• 1. AAEs/ARAs provide a list of worker
  specification to PNGSWT
• 2. PNGSWT identify suitable workers from the
  work-ready pool for AAEs/ARAs
• 3. AAEs/ARAs select the suitable worker letter
  of invitation sent to prospective worker

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PNG Sending Arrangements

• 1. Selected workers move from Districts to Port
  Moresby for further checks, testing, signing of
  contracts with AAEs or ARAs, 2 weeks orientation
  seminar, visa processing and pre-departure
  briefings
• 2. PNGSWT AAEs coordinate successful workers to
  Australia. The workers are placed in the various
  farms by AAEs/ARAs PNG Liaison Officer in
  Australia.

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Australia Receiving Arrangements

• 1. On-arrival orientation briefing provided by
  AAEs with local government, unions, community
  groups and PNG Liaison Officer
• 2. Australian Workplace Ombudsman ensure that PNG
  Workers are not exploited by AAEs
• 3. PNG workers will be protected by the
  Australian workplace laws will enjoy same terms
  conditions of employment whilst working in
  Australia
• 4. PNGSW Liaison Officer will also provide
  support to workers (pastoral care) and assist
  AAEs with return arrangements

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PNG Return Workers (RWs) Arrangements

• 1. PNG worker return to Papua New Guinea after
  the agreed visa period
• 2. The RWs will be received by PNGSW Coordination
  Office in Port Moresby (Jackson's Airport)
• 3. The RWs will undergo a week on-return
  debriefing and prepare RWs for career
  enterprise options in their home districts
• 4. The Department for Community Development and
  the Department of PLG Affairs will manage and
  facilitate the RWs back to their home Districts
  local communities

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Inter-agency Working Group to develop and
facilitate a Repatriated Seasonal Worker District
Career Plan

• 1. Dept. of Community for Development the Dept.
  of Provincial Local Government Affairs is the
  con-joint lead implementer for post-return
  workers
• 3. Receive return workers in Port Moresby for
  debriefing and to assist and guide workers to
  reinvest repatriated funds in wealth generation
  activities in their home districts
• 3. Develop a collaborative Repatriated Seasonal
  Worker Strategic District business Plan for
  return workers.

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Economic Benefits for PNG

• 1. Economic stimulus for broad-based sustainable
  economic growth and greater self-reliance for
  rural families communities in the Districts
  reinvest in activities to generate wealth in the
  rural areas
• 2. Consistent with Vision 2050, the boarder
  Medium Term Development Strategy (MTDS),
  Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - (MTDS
  review must see the Scheme as a development
  opportunity as Foreign Aid alone can not solve
  all the complex socio-economic challenges of PNG
• 3. World Bank Study-World Banks Global Economic
  Prospects 2006 indicates that international
  migration and remittances both have strong impact
  in poverty reduction in 2005 remittances
  received by developing countries totaled US 167
  billion. The world wide remittance was at US 232
  billion in 2003
• 4. The 08th Pacific Economic Study published by
  AusAID in March 2008 states that Remittances are
  becoming increasingly important to the Pacific.
  Since 2000, remittances have grown on an average
  36 per cent per year to reach US425 million in
  2005.
• 5. PNG workers (600) could return to Papua New
  Guinea with around AU 3.6 million to AU6
  million or PNGK4.8 million to PNGK20 million to
  be spent at the District and rural areas in Papua
  New Guinea as repatriated wages directly to
  families and Districts (economic stimulus for the
  rural communities).

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PNG Labour Mobility (SW) Trust Account

• 1. PNG Labour Mobility (SW) Trust Account will be
  established under Sections 15 19 of Public
  Finances (Management) Act 1995
• 2. Department of Foreign Affairs Trade, PNG SW
  Coordination Offices PNGSWT manages the Trust
  Account
• 3. Requirement for monthly annual reporting to
  Treasury thru PNGSWT, including audit of finances
  under the Audit Act 1989 (Report by Minister to
  Parliament).

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Conclusion

• PNG Government at the highest Executive level
  want to make the Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme a
  success
• PNG seasonal worker program is consistent with
  PNG Vision 2050, MTDS, MDG to assist and guide
  Papua New Guineans into wealth generation
  activities, targeting 85 per cent of our poor
  rural people
• The PNGSW Taskforce, DFAT, DLIR the
  Coordination Offices are keen and willing to make
  it a success
• Given the time, motion and resource limitations,
  we need your support and involvement as a program
  partner.
• Together, we can deliver and sustain a robust PNG
  Labour Export and Marketing System (e.g. domestic
  extraction industry (LNG mining) and RSE, HWS
  PSWPS)

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THE END

• Thank you and if you allow, I could take a
  question.