A proposal that would see the Vanuatu government take over seasonal worker recruitment to Australia and New Zealand is heavily criticized.
However, Deputy Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau told local media his idea to replace SWP agents will increase government revenue and ensure fairness in recruitment.
The proposal has caused a stir on social media with many seasonal worker agents and workers voicing concern.
Seasonal worker agent Dan Dempsey said that Vanuatu workers have told him they are worried about their future under the proposal.
"[The] main reason they are worried is the relationship thing. They have a strong relationship with me.. And they can’t see how this [new] system will work when they are dealing with unknown people," he said.
On social media, users expressed concern that Vanuatu government control could politicise the scheme.
Mr Dempsey said that Vanuatu's success as a leader in the SWP space in both Australia and New Zealand, where they send thousands of workers, is because of independent agents.
"If you added up the total number of seasonal workers that come out of Vanuatu, it’s more than all the other countries combined. So its a system that works very well. Yes its got its flaws, but the numbers are there, the data is there," he said.
Pacific Beat has approached the Vanuatu Government for comment.
Photo file ABC