By Eliza Kukutu
Copyright sibconline
By Eliza Kukutu
Pacific Leaders have endorsed the Pacific Regional Labour Mobility Principles (PRLMP) at the 54th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting (PIFLM54) held in Honiara.
The Pacific Regional Labour Mobility Principles are a non-legally binding framework aimed at safeguarding the rights and well-being of Pacific workers participating in overseas labour mobility programs.
Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum and Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, Hon. Jeremiah Manele, announced the endorsement when presenting the meeting’s communiqué.
“At the heart of regional integration is the free movement of people. To support that, Leaders have endorsed the Pacific Regional Labour Mobility Principles to guide and maximise the developmental, social, and economic benefits of labour mobility in the region,” Manele said.
Over the years, the Pacific region has seen growing interest in labour mobility, with thousands of Pacific Islanders now working in Australia and New Zealand under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Programme and the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme.
For Solomon Islands alone, over 10,000 workers are currently employed under the PALM Scheme in Australia across various sectors, including agriculture, meat processing, and aged care.
In 2024, the Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI) reported that Solomon Islanders working under these schemes had sent over SBD $400 million in remittances, supporting families, communities, and the national economy.
The Solomon Islands Government now aims to increase this number to 16,000 workers in the New Zealand RSE and Australia’s PALM Scheme by 2028.
While the benefits are significant, concerns have also been raised about unfair recruitment practices and the social challenges experienced by some workers abroad.
In response, Pacific Forum Trade Ministers in 2020 made labour mobility a standing agenda item and commissioned a comprehensive assessment, completed in 2021 under the oversight of the Labour Mobility Reference Group .
In 2023, Forum Leaders tasked the Secretariat with conducting further consultations with member countries to explore the challenges and opportunities in labour mobility. This process led to the development of a regional strategy, later reframed as the Pacific Regional Labour Mobility Principles (PRLMP).
The Secretariat engaged in national consultations with member states, development partners, and other stakeholders to inform the final version of the PRLMP.
Following its submission to the Forum Trade Ministers Meeting in Suva, Fiji, in July 2025, the principles were officially endorsed at the 54th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting.
SIBC News understands that the key principles cover areas such as fair recruitment, social protection, skills development, and addressing social impacts, aligning with the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.
