Nemani: Pacific Employment Challenges Too Interconnected to Face Alone

Permanent Secretary for Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations, Jone Maritino Nemani, welcomed delegates to the Pacific Employment Conference 2025 in Nadi, saying his years of work across the region had convinced him that the challenges Pacific nations face are too interconnected and urgent to be solved in isolation.

“Over the years, in my work across the Pacific region, I have witnessed firsthand how employment challenges, climate impacts, security concerns, and labour mobility are reshaping the lives of our people. I became convinced that we needed a forum where we could address these interconnected realities together, as a Pacific family, rather than struggling with them in isolation,” he said

He described the gathering as a historic milestone, the first Pacific Employment Conference of its scope and ambition, and one that coincides with the ILO’s 50th anniversary in the region.

“Today marks a historic milestone: our first-ever Pacific Employment Conference of this scope and ambition, with many Pacific countries and territories represented. We also celebrate this as part of the ILO’s 50th anniversary in the Pacific – a partnership that has grown stronger with each passing decade,” Nemani told delegates

To make the interconnectedness real for Pacific families, Nemani recalled the devastation of Cyclone Winston in 2016, explaining how climate disasters ripple through every layer of society.

“When Cyclone Winston devastated Fiji in 2016, it didn’t just destroy buildings and crops. Within days, thousands of tourism workers lost their jobs when resorts closed for repairs. Some of those workers moved to other regions seeking employment, affecting labour markets in different areas. Families who lost income became more vulnerable, while communities struggled with the social tensions that unemployment brings,” he said, adding that the recovery created new skills and industries, showing why employment, climate, mobility and security cannot be treated as separate issues

Nemani also used the moment to underline Fiji’s renewed leadership in employment policy, highlighting the government’s reforms since taking office.

He pointed to the restoration of freedom of association rights in line with ILO conventions and the resolution of the 33-year Vatukoula Gold Mine strike, the world’s longest-running industrial dispute.

“These actions demonstrate our commitment to genuine tripartite dialogue and social justice. Now, by convening this inaugural Pacific Employment Conference, we are extending this reset beyond our borders, working with our Pacific family to establish new directions for regional employment cooperation built on international standards and tripartite principles,” he said

As delegates prepared for four days of dialogue, the Permanent Secretary urged them to bring honesty and practicality to the table.

He encouraged participants to share not just official policy but real national experiences, to listen for connections across sectors and borders, and to focus on solutions that can actually be implemented with existing resources.

“The question isn’t ‘What would we do with unlimited funding?’ but ‘What can we realistically accomplish together with what we have?’”

Nemani stressed. He reminded all present that the tripartite approach, drawing on governments, employers, and workers, had been the foundation of employment progress in the region for fifty years and must continue to guide new solutions.