A Study on the Future of Work in the Pacific
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A Study on the Future of Work in the Pacific ILO Office for Pacific Island Countries FNPF Place, 8th Floor, Victoria Parade, PO Box 14500, Suva, Fiji ILO Office for Pacific Island Countries tel: +679 331 3866, fax: +679 330 0248, email: [email protected], www.ilo.org/suva May 2017 A Study on the Future of Work in the Pacific ILO Office for Pacific Island Countries May 2017 Copyright © International Labour Organization 2017 First published 2017 Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to ILO Publications (Rights and Licensing), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, or by email: [email protected]. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. 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Printed in Fiji ILO Office for Pacific Island Countries May 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of contents ........................................................................................................................... i List of figures, tables and boxes .................................................................................................... iii Acronyms ...................................................................................................................................... iv Foreword ....................................................................................................................................... v Executive Summary....................................................................................................................... vi 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 2. Labour market overview ........................................................................................................... 2 2.1 The macro-economic context ............................................................................................ 2 2.2 Labour Market outcomes .................................................................................................. 4 2.2.1 Labour force overview ........................................................................................................... 4 2.2.2 Large informal and subsistence economies ........................................................................... 6 2.2.3 Youth unemployment ............................................................................................................ 6 2.2.4 Skill shortages and training .................................................................................................... 8 2.2.5 Migration, labour mobility and remittances .......................................................................... 9 2.3 Labour market governance .............................................................................................. 13 2.3.1 Social protection systems .................................................................................................... 13 2.3.2 Social dialogue and tripartism ............................................................................................. 14 2.3.3 National and international policy framework ...................................................................... 14 3. Drivers of labour market change ............................................................................................ 16 3.1 Innovation and technology .............................................................................................. 16 3.1.1. Internet Connectivity .......................................................................................................... 16 3.1.2 Mobile phone coverage ....................................................................................................... 17 3.2 Climate change and environmental degradation ............................................................ 18 3.3 Population growth and urbanisation ............................................................................... 19 3.4 Access to opportunities in overseas labour markets ...................................................... 21 3.5 Labour law reform ............................................................................................................ 22 4. Employment growth opportunities ........................................................................................ 22 4.1 Land-based resources ...................................................................................................... 23 4.1.1 Agriculture............................................................................................................................ 23 4.1.2 Forestry ................................................................................................................................ 25 4.1.3 Mining .................................................................................................................................. 26 4.2 Ocean resources .............................................................................................................. 28 4.2.1 Fisheries ............................................................................................................................... 28 4.2.2 Deep sea mining ................................................................................................................... 29 4.3 Tourism ............................................................................................................................. 30 4.4 Green jobs ........................................................................................................................ 31 i 4.5 Global outsourcing services ............................................................................................. 32 4.6 Overseas employment ..................................................................................................... 33 5. Key challenges ......................................................................................................................... 34 5.1 Labour force characteristics ............................................................................................ 34 5.2 Skill shortages and skills development ............................................................................ 35 5.3 Technology and innovation .............................................................................................. 36 5.4 Labour governance .......................................................................................................... 38 5.5. Inequality ......................................................................................................................... 38 5.6 Social protection .............................................................................................................. 40 5.7 Climate change and environment ................................................................................... 41 6. Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 42 6.1 Domestic employment creation ...................................................................................... 42 6.2 Skills development ........................................................................................................... 44 6.3 Labour migration .............................................................................................................. 46 6.4 Labour governance .......................................................................................................... 47 6.5 Social protection .............................................................................................................. 47 6.6 Research and data gaps ................................................................................................... 48 List of References .......................................................................................................................