Government Launches Labour Mobility Supply Management Strategy.
The Government has launched its Labour Mobility Supply Management Strategy to address concerns about labour mobility in the Pacific region due to the continuing migration of laborers overseas. The strategy was launched by the Prime Minister, Honourable Hu’akavameiliku, at an event in Fangaloto on April 13, 2023.
According to the Prime Minister, the strategy is timely and provides a viable development opportunity for Tonga. Labour mobility can provide employment opportunities for workers, reduce local unemployment and underemployment, and contribute to poverty alleviation and improved standards of living through remittances. The strategy also aligns with the government’s priority areas, which include improving education for all, gender equality, and increasing employable trainings for both local and overseas opportunities.
Tonga’s Labour Mobility Policy was launched in 2020, and this strategy is the implementation of one of the policy’s five pillars. The strategy provides the Tongan government with a framework to improve the labour mobility institutional framework and labour market intelligence. It also aims to develop a more equitable and well-coordinated labour mobility planning, marketing, and selection process, enhance a program of training and upskilling that compliments the circular nature of labour mobility, provide options and conditions for a more attractive domestic labour market, and promote a clear, well-understood and inclusive labour mobility supply management strategy.
The Prime Minister thanked the governments of Australia and New Zealand for their partnership in the popular labour mobility programs that provide thousands of Tongans annually the opportunity to work temporarily in both countries. He also expressed his gratitude to the PACER Plus Implementation Unit for funding this important work for Tonga.
The event was attended by Cabinet Ministers, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Senior Government officials, members of the private sector, and guests. With this new strategy, Tonga hopes to develop a well-managed, coordinated labour mobility supply management program that provides low-skilled and semi-skilled workers with increased circular and temporary migration opportunities for decent work overseas while enhancing the positive social and economic development of labour mobility in the country.
