Shania Shayal Prasad 
Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations Agni Deo Singh. [Photo: FILE]
Concerns are growing over the number of complaints from employers about overseas workers whose skills do not match their qualifications.
Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations Agni Deo Singh says many disputes arise when workers arrive in Fiji with certificates that do not reflect their actual experience or level of expertise.
The Minister warns that these mismatches affect productivity and place pressure on the employment system.
“So the number of occasions where, for example, a senior tyre layer is recruited, and the employer signs an employment contract to pay you know for that level of skill, which is quite high, a high rate but when the worker arrives in the country the worker does not actually possess that level of skill and that is when the conflict arises.”
Singh says many of these cases stem from dishonest recruitment agents in the source countries.
“That is why we always emphasise to employers to ensure that they do their thorough due diligence before they actually recruit them, because it incurs a lot of cost. At the end of the day, if there is a dispute, the employer just has to send them back, and that is a big loss to the employer.”
Singh is now calling on employers and recruitment agents to strengthen background checks and verification processes to ensure overseas workers are properly vetted before contracts are signed.
Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
