Labour Minister Andrew Napuat has defended seasonal work programs, rejecting comparisons to slavery.

Last month, a United Nations report raised serious concerns about the treatment of temporary Pacific workers in Australia.

Currently, more than 5,000 Ni-Vanuatu men and women are employed in Australia under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme. This is not the first time Vanuatu has sent large numbers of workers overseas; in the 1800s, thousands were taken under the system now known as blackbirding.

Minister Napuat said the situation today is “totally different” from 200 years ago.

“Our workers earn money to support their basic needs back in Vanuatu. We don’t force anyone to go overseas,” he said.

In August, the UN Special Rapporteur on Slavery, Professor Tomoya Obokata, urged the Australian government to strengthen protections for Pacific workers. He told ABC Pacific last week that during his 2023 visit to Australia he found “serious patterns of exploitation,” which he described as unacceptable.

But Minister Napuat stressed that Vanuatu’s government has systems in place to support workers facing problems abroad.

“This is not something the government forces people to do. If workers find they are receiving the same treatment as in the past, then it must be addressed in policy terms,” he said.

Concerns about the welfare of Ni-Vanuatu workers under overseas schemes are not new. However, the government continues to operate mechanisms to support them, acknowledging their vital contributions to families at home and to the national economy.