More than 300 people say they paid $100 each after being promised overseas employment opportunities, with more than 50 reportedly turning up at Nadi International Airport on Saturday expecting to leave Fiji, only to be told there was no flight booking for them. An affected individual, who spoke to fijivillage News on condition of anonymity, says they were told from February that a woman reportedly based in New Zealand would assist them in travelling overseas for employment, including fruit-picking jobs.
He alleges each person was asked to pay $100 through M-PAiSA.
The individual says more than 300 people were involved in 32 groups, with about 10 people in each group.
He says people from Lomaiviti, Kadavu, Naitasiri, Namosi, Nadroga, Tavua, Rakiraki and Ba were among those involved.
The individual says payments started in February and they were initially told the first group would travel in March.
He says this was later changed to May and, as the months passed, they were eventually informed that the first group would depart last Saturday.
The man says he was told he would be employed on a sweet potato farm in Queensland, while two of his friends were told they would pick oranges in Melbourne and another was told he would work as a butcher in Sydney.
He says the organiser had been providing updates through a facebook group chat, but claims communication became less frequent as time passed.
The individual says more than 50 people from the first group travelled to Nadi International Airport on Saturday expecting to leave the country.
He says two people had travelled from Kadavu and another from Lomaiviti to Nadi expecting to board the flight.
The man says families had also travelled to the airport to farewell their relatives, believing they were leaving Fiji for the promised employment.
He says after waiting for hours for information about their flight, one of the affected people approached airport security and explained the situation.
The individual claims checks were then made and they were informed that there was no flight booking for the group that day.
He says some people had been waiting for the opportunity since February and claims some had even resigned from their jobs in anticipation of travelling overseas.
When contacted by fijivillage News today, Permanent Secretary for Employment Maritino Nemani says the Ministry became aware of the alleged recruitment issue this morning and is urging people who are being charged fees for recruitment outside Government programmes to report the matter to Police.
Nemani says the Government does not charge workers recruitment fees to participate in its Government-to-Government labour mobility programmes with Australia and New Zealand.
Nemani says people should also verify with the Ministry whether those offering overseas employment opportunities are legitimate before making payments or committing themselves to an arrangement.
He says despite the Ministry issuing public notices and making radio announcements advising people that Government does not charge recruitment fees under the programmes, Fijians continue to be attracted to other recruitment offers.
Nemani says the Ministry feels for the Fijians who went to Nadi International Airport based on promises that they would be travelling overseas for work.
