Comments

Whether you like it not vanuatu is our country and decision taken is to benefit The whole nation. It's seems that the agents have been fooling workers all this years. This is The best approach.

Hi Frederick, Thank you for this informative blog. The amount of K2.573 billion for SIPs sound like a lot. Do you know what percentage of the total government budget this represents? And/or how it compares with other service delivery budget lines? thank you

Tanks for updates very valid words

Support governments decision to abolish Vanuatu local agent. To many rubbish as been going on by local agents. Corruption involving some of the agent.

Where can i find election results for 2017.

Thanks for your comment on our suggestion that if the Vanuatu Government wants more revenue from the SWP and RSE, it could charge workers an entry fee on return. I think that SWP and RSE workers would be happy to pay a tax to their government if there was a direct benefit for them. In particular, ni-Vanuatu workers have lacked the support of liaison officers while working overseas. The tax could fund one or more liaison officers to provide this support. A levy would also enable workers to hold liaison officers accountable in terms of their responsiveness and ability to resolve problems on the ground. A levy would also give workers the right to demand greater accountability more generally. A debriefing session on their return would give workers the chance to give feedback on their approved employer, their workplace supervision and the performance of the government-funded liaison officer. The ESU conducted these debriefing sessions in the early days of the RSE but they have long since ceased.

Why suggest a solution that takes money out of the hands of the worker? That would be unfair given the spurious deductions they have to pay weekly, as well as the 15c in every $1 that they pay to the Australian Government in tax.

Clearly an inspirational individual.

Totoka Varun. Why were international students treated differently? Indeed China did what was necessary to contain the virus. The efficiency on how they went about it is wow.... just wow. Congrats again on your achievements, both academically and just enduring being confined in your room. Life lessons eh.

I'm curious to know what model of psychological First aid you're referring to. There are several here in the US- John Hopkins, Subsatance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the World Health Organization. Would it be one of these or a model developed in Australia?

Thanks Varun for this highly informative and first-hand experience of surviving Covid-19 in Wuhan, the epicentre of this epidemic. There are many lessons for all of us from your experience: one that stands out for me is that staying put and persevering can pay handsome dividends. You have this knack that many of us sorely lack!

Hi Amanda, Thank you for your comments. Firstly, the majority of SWP workers have had their visas renewed with the assistance of their Approved Employers (AE). Most that have had lapsed visas are those who have left their SWP AE. Yes workers can check on DESE's website where there is a list of current SWP AEs. There is also a hotline for SWP workers to call with any problems or questions. However, I am unsure how well used this is by workers.