Fijian PALM workers. Photo courtesy of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Government of Australia.

Feature post by Michelle Carnegie, Knowledge and Learning Manager of the Quality, Learning and Performance Unit, Pacific Labour Facility

The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme is a temporary labour migration program that matches Pacific island and Timorese workers with Australian employers for unskilled seasonal jobs for up to nine months, and longer-term low-skilled and semi-skilled roles for between one and three years.

The PALM scheme is administered by the Pacific Labour Facility (PLF) in partnership with the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The PLF also works closely with the ‘labour sending units’ (or LSUs) in the government ministries of the 10 participating countries in delivering the scheme.

The economic benefits of the PALM scheme are substantial – the latest estimates show that between July 2018 and December 2021, approximately 5,300 long-term workers earned up to AUD172.8m and from that, saved and remitted an estimated $64.2m. Underlining these figures is the fact PALM scheme workers can earn and save much more than they could if they did not travel to Australia for temporary employment. The social costs associated with temporary labour migration are, however, less well known or acknowledged compared with the economic benefits.

Under current visa arrangements, family members cannot accompany PALM scheme workers to Australia. Family life inevitably changes when a household member migrates for temporary work, while partners, children, siblings, and parents stay behind and adjust to the worker’s absence. Additionally, PALM scheme workers must adjust to a new life in Australia, working in jobs that are physically demanding, with early starts and shift work, living in shared accommodation in remote and regional Australia, without the familiar scaffolding of their family and community support systems.

Below are some preliminary insights from a longitudinal study of 12 Fijian PALM scheme workers in Australia at the 12 to 18-month point of their 36-month contracts, and a nominated ‘stay-behind’ family member, and how they all navigate the changes in their everyday lives. The study findings juxtapose the workers’ physical absence and their personal and emotional sacrifices against the significant financial benefits of earning a foreign income.

Communicating across distance

Most families communicate daily, using WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, scheduling times to connect around each other’s time zones and routines. Conversations generally focus on the minutiae of everyday life, the highs and lows of the work or school day, finances, savings plans and household purchases, and the wellbeing and welfare of family, especially children and vulnerable members of the household. Social media platforms shrink the distance and help dispel the loneliness across the Pacific Ocean and make communication easy and affordable.

According to the workers, however, nothing can compensate for being physically present with family. As one 32-year-old female worker, Shelini, put it:

“And about talking to family. I know what they’re cooking at home. Then they know what I’m having for dinner. Yeah. So, it’s basically like I’m there. It’s only when someone is sick. And physically, I’m not there. That’s when it’s hard.”

Family responses to physical separation and livelihood improvements

Situations and responses to being separated differ depending on family structures and stages in the lifecycle, as well as support networks. Single mothers with a late teenager or young adult child and extended family available to look out for them had fewer concerns about family separation than, for example, a married couple with one or more young children and a stay-behind spouse.

One married couple’s relationship came under strain when the husband had an affair while working in Australia. This was extremely distressing for his wife who took six months to forgive him, drawing heavily on her Christian faith to do so. A female worker in Australia lost her husband to suicide, a truly shocking and unexpected incident that she believed was due to the long delays in being able to physically meet, and the indeterminacy caused by the pandemic about when international borders would open again. These types of events brought up questions in the minds of workers and family members as to whether working in Australia was the right thing to do.

In all cases, when workers and family members were asked about the improvements in their lives, it was the ability to materially provide for their families, to alleviate their financial struggles, to put savings away for the first time in their lives, and to plan for a future they could only have otherwise dreamed of.
Becoming a PALM scheme worker is coveted employment – in every country there are thousands of eligible workers in the ‘work-ready pool’ for relatively few work placements that provide the opportunity to accumulate hard-earned wealth.

Jone, the 49-year-old father of a single female worker, Susi, with four male siblings of school age summed up the social costs and economic benefits for his household:

“The young ones, they miss Susi very much. We’re very close and when they make video calls, sometimes she cries. The main thing to do and I advise all my children, to understand what we’re going through, this is a way to look for some more money to help me out supporting you”.

PALM scheme responses to reduce the social costs of labour migration

The PLF is introducing a ‘community of care’ approach to worker welfare which fosters culture, connections, and relationships by bringing together different regional partners/stakeholders that have a role and responsibility in supporting the health and wellbeing of workers, including for example, Australian employers, Pasifika diaspora groups, churches, the police, and community organisations. The PLF are also supporting additional community liaison staff in Australia and welfare staff in some LSUs to support both workers and families experiencing family separation issues.

Some LSUs are starting to involve families in pre-departure briefing sessions. A family readiness pilot program in Vanuatu (Famili I Redi) assists couples to gain a better understanding of what to expect from work in Australia, and learn techniques to maintain respectful, empathetic, and compassionate long-distance relationships and negotiate financial management.

Meanwhile, the PLF is continuing its social research with PALM scheme workers and families, including expanding its longitudinal study to other nationalities and workers from diverse backgrounds.

The Pacific Labour Facility is implemented by Palladium. Alinea International provides monitoring, evaluation and research support services to the PLF.

More information

To find out more about the PALM scheme, please visit www.palmscheme.gov.au

alinea’s whistleblower policy

1.1 Purpose

The following Whistleblower Policy has been established to provide guidance to Alinea International employees and sub-contractors on how to deal with known or suspected improper conduct within the organization. The objectives of this Policy are to:

Create awareness of the Policy and available whistleblower protections
Act as a reference guide to potential whistleblowers wishing to make a disclosure
Define the structure of the whistleblower system, including reporting and investigation procedures, whistleblower protections, and confidentiality, among others
Improve the communication and transparency in the processes associated with whistleblowing and assure protection against derogatory consequences, namely reprisals and detrimental action
Complement the current communication channels between employees, sub-contractors and immediate managers, and hierarchical channels flowing to the President and Senior Management team
Provide guidance to all parties involved in either whistleblowing or whistleblower protection.

1.2 Scope

Alinea requires all employees and sub-contractors to observe high standards of business and personal ethics in the conduct of their duties and responsibilities. All employees and sub-contractors of Alinea are required to comply with applicable laws and regulations of Canada and the countries where we operate. Any allegations of known or suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources will be dealt with in accordance with this Policy, and reasonable steps will be taken to protect those who come forward with allegations. Alinea’s Whistleblower Policy covers both internal and external whistleblowing, and establishes the controls and procedures for dealing with allegations of malpractice, fraud and violations of our code of ethics and/or laws or regulations that govern our operations. This Policy is intended to encourage employees and sub-contractors to report known or suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources and to enable Alinea’s Senior Management team to address and correct inappropriate action. It is the responsibility of all Board of Directors’ members, the Senior Management team, employees and sub-contractors to report concerns about known or suspected malpractice, fraud and violations of our code of ethics and/or laws or regulations that govern our operations. This Policy is applicable to all employees and sub-contractors of Alinea International.

1.3 Reporting Procedures

Alinea recognizes the value of transparency and accountability in its administrative and management practices and supports the making of disclosures that reveal improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources. Our internal controls and operating procedures are intended to detect and prevent malpractice, fraud and violations of our code of ethics and/or laws or regulations that govern our operations. As detailed in Alinea’s Employee Policy and Onboarding manuals, employees and sub-contractors are encouraged to share complaints and/or concerns regarding ethical or legal violations with their immediate managers. If the employee or sub-contractor is not comfortable speaking with their immediate manager or is not satisfied with the response, they are encouraged to speak with the Gatineau or Calgary Office Managers, the Vice Presidents or, as required, the Chief Financial Officer. All members of the Senior Management team are required to report complaints and/or concerns about suspected ethical or legal violations in writing to Alinea’s Ethics Committee who has the responsibility to investigate all reported complaints and/or concerns. In the event that the complaint and/or concern is about the President, it should be raised by the employee or sub-contractor to their immediate manager or the Ethics Committee who will determine how the investigation will proceed. All reports will be promptly investigated and appropriate corrective measures will be taken if warranted by the investigation. Alinea’s Ethics Committee is responsible for acknowledging receipt of the suspected violation and notifying the whistleblower of the outcome of the investigation. Anyone filing a written complaint concerning suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources must be acting in good faith and have reasonable grounds for believing the information disclosed indicates a violation. Personal grievances or complaints related to employment are not covered under Alinea’s Whistleblowing Policy. For cases such as this, employees and sub-contractors are advised to first refer to Alineas Employee Policy and Onboarding manuals when considering a disclosure under the Whistleblowing Policy. Any allegations that prove not to be substantiated and which prove to have been made maliciously or knowingly to be false will be viewed as a serious disciplinary offense.

1.4 Confidentiality

Maintaining confidentiality is crucial to ensure reprisals are not made against the whistleblower. Alinea is committed to safeguarding the identity of the whistleblower and to protecting the whistleblower against detrimental action taken in reprisal for allegations of suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources. The Ethics Committee is responsible for ensuring whistleblowers are protected from direct and indirect detrimental action, and that the culture of the workplace is supportive of suspected allegations being made. Any employee who retaliates against someone who has reported a violation in good faith is subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment.

1.5 Review

Alinea is committed to implementing ‘best practice’ policies and procedures for dealing with allegations of suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources (as defined by this Policy) and the management and protection of whistleblowers making allegation(s). This Policy will be reviewed periodically to ensure it meets the objectives of relevant legislation and remains effective for Alinea, and may be changed at the discretion of the Board of Directors at any time. For allegations of fraud, securities law, or human rights concerns, or when you are not satisfied or uncomfortable with following the Company’s open door policy, individuals should contact the Company’s Ethics Committee directly.

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Balancing economic gains and emotional sacrifices in Pacific labour mobility: Personal stories and program responses