While the number of work permits Papua New Guinea has issued to Pacific Islanders has quadrupled in the last ten years, they still make up just 1.2 per cent of the total foreign work force in the Pacific’s largest economy. But that may be about to change.

PNG’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has flagged that his government will relax its travel visas and work permits for Pacific Islanders coming to visit and work in Papua New Guinea.

He says people from Micronesia will be granted visas on arrival, while ‘work permits will not be required for other Pacific Islanders wanting to come and work in PNG’.

Compared to a total of 41,096 active work permits held by foreign nationals, Pacific Islanders make up only 1.2% of the workforce.

O’Neill’s announcement coincides with an analysis of labour mobility in the Pacific, which shows while the number of work permits issued to Pacific Islanders has increased rapidly in the last ten years, from a low of 43 in 2005 to 266 in 2014, the numbers remain small, overall.

By May this year, 511 Pacific Islanders were working in PNG, with 413 from Fiji, according to Australian National University demographer, Carmen Voigt-Graf.

The Australia National University’s Carmen Voigt-Graf

Compared to a total of 41,096 active work permits held by foreign nationals, Pacific Islanders make up only 1.2% of the workforce.

The largest number of Pacific Islanders were working in ‘Transport, Postal and Warehousing (54), followed by ‘Construction and Infrastructure’ (30), ‘Information media and telecommunications (23), ‘Accommodation and Food Services’ (22) and ‘Health Care and Social Assistance (22).

Occupations

But they work in more than 100 different occupations, and by far the majority (85%) are either managers or professionals.

The movement of Pacific workers into PNG has occurred on an individual basis and not under any bilateral or regional scheme, Voigt-Graf says.

Three years ago, the Melanesian Spearhead Group’s set up a Skills Movement Scheme to promote labour movement between PNG, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Fiji. But not a single worker has moved under that scheme.

Challenges

Pacific Islanders face several challenges in accessing the PNG labour market, says Voigt-Graf.

‘Many big companies are foreign-owned and employ workers from the countries where their headquarters are located, or they have established networks with recruitment agents in their own countries.

‘So PNG employers do not regard the workplace skills and competencies of Pacific Islanders as of the same high quality as those of workers from some other countries.’

‘And because Pacific islanders are not represented in the PNG labour market to the extent that Australian and many Asian workers are, they have not had an opportunity to develop networks and gain a reputation as competent workers.’

Perceptions of training

Thirdly, many Technical and Vocational Education and Training systems in the Pacific region are not regarded as being of high quality.

‘So PNG employers do not regard the workplace skills and competencies of Pacific Islanders as of the same high quality as those of workers from some other countries.

‘The lack of a Pacific Qualifications Framework also means that qualifications are not directly comparable, and not necessarily compatible between Pacific island countries.

‘There is also a sense of unease among officials in PNG about labour mobility within the region.

‘Until a working regional mobility scheme is up and running, the number of Pacific Island workers being employed elsewhere in the Pacific will continue to remain low.’