Milestone intra-labour mobility agreement signed between Niue and the Solomon Islands

An historic event took place this morning with the signing of an inter-agency understanding between Niue and the government of the Solomon Islands in the first managed intra-labour mobility programme of its kind under the auspices of the PACER Plus Labour Mobility.

The momentous occasion was witnessed by local dignitaries including the diplomatic representations and the delegations from the Solomon Islands and Pacer Plus Implementation Office.

The Permanent Secretary for Solomon Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs & External Trade, Mr Colin Beck and Niue’s Secretary of Government Ms Peleni Talagi signed the intra-agency understanding agreement marking this milestone pilot to address high unemployment in the Solomon Islands and severe staff shortage in Niue. 

The Head of the PACER Plus Implementation UnitMr Roy Lagolago said “Today marks a significant milestone in the Pacific Labour Mobility as it is the first managed intra labour mobility programme of its kind”

Lagolago explained that Niue was formally recognized as a labour-receiving country at the 2022 Labour Mobility Annual meeting in Samoa. A scoping study was conducted in 2023 by the Labour Mobility Secretariat focusing on the health sector.

The keynote address was delivered by Minister of Finance Hon. Crossley Tatui who thanked the Government of the Solomon Islands for assisting Niue saying this provides a mutually beneficial solution for both countries. “This pilot programme is founded on the notion of achieving two goals at once, in addressing the abundance of nurses in the Solomon Islands and while simultaneously tackling the severe shortage of nurses in Niue’s health sector. It is truly a strategic and mutually beneficial solution for both countries.”

Mr.Colin Beck told the gathering that this is a transformative programme which will help his country and his government because the most important asset in any country is its people. “This provides an opportunity to build a sustainable future not only for the public sector as well as the private sector but also a paradigm shift, a paradigm shift to look beyond and grow green grass of progress and prosperity at home. The nurses who will come, will bring with them vast wealth of experience” said Mr Beck explaining that in the Solomon Islands their labour mobility brand is ‘Here to work’ with four key pillars of commitment, dedication, courteous and responsible”.

The Assistant Secretary to Government, Gaylene Tasmania who is the Chair of the Niue Labour Mobility Steering Committee said that this is the second attempt to address the severe shortage of nurses at the health department. The first attempt was with the government of Samoa but this didn’t eventuate meanwhile they had also started working with the team from PACER Plus for this trial with the Solomon Islands. 

While staff shortage is a concern for many government agencies, Mrs Tasmania said that the reason for prioritizing the health sector was obvious with many nurses working over time that they had to bring in locum nurses from Tonga, but this proved costly and unsustainable.  Another issue restricting the number of nurses Niue can bring in, is the lack of available accommodation. Mrs Tasmania is encouraging locals to take advantage of this opportunity to upgrade their vacant properties and make it available for the labour mobility programme.

A total of 30 experienced nurses from the Solomon Islands applied for the opportunity but only 4 will be selected for this pilot. Mrs Tasmania said that the lack of accommodation on the island also hampered their efforts to bring in more nurses. 

The Niue Health department and the Public Service Commission will now commence with the selection of the four nurses from the 30 applications. The successful candidates are expected to arrive over the coming months.