Employment Ministry warns of illegal recruitment for overseas employment

If you are hoping to go overseas for employment, please be mindful of recruiting individuals, as the Ministry for Employment is issuing a warning following the recent reports on the illegal recruitment of Fijians for overseas employment opportunities in Canada.

Minister for Employment Agni Deo Singh says any company or person who wishes to send Fijian workers for overseas employment must first register with the Employment Ministry and obtain necessary approval from the Permanent Secretary for Employment before conducting any business of registering, recruiting and deployment of workers for overseas employment.

He has also warned agents not to send workers for overseas employment without obtaining authorization from the Ministry.

Singh says the ultimate aim of the Ministry under the Employment Relations Act (ERA) 2007 is to ensure that Fijians are not exploited in respect of their terms and conditions of employment under their foreign contracts of service and to also prevent human trafficking or other unlawful forms of labour exploitation by unscrupulous operators.

The Minister adds his Ministry currently has six registered Employment Agencies authorized to recruit and send Fijian workers for overseas employment and these are Viti Roofing & Construction PTE Limited, PacLeader Pacific PTE Limited, Alpha Pacific Navigation PTE Limited, and Pacific Employment Agency PTE Limited.

Any person who operates an Employment Agency without authorization shall be guilty of an offence and is liable for a conviction to a fine of not less than $4,000 and not more than $10,000 or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or both.

The Ministry’s Compliance Team visited the group involved and also advised them on the unlawful forms of labour exploitation and human trafficking.

He also urged them to use good judgement when approached by such bogus agents and to contact the nearest Ministry of Employment Office to ensure that they are given the right advice on overseas employment issues and also to register their interest with registered employment agencies authorised by the Ministry.