Pacific countries

Sixteen countries. One first harbour.

Country briefs, news and reports are for readers. Each country has a short context note.

16 Pacific Island Countries · Pacific Islands Forum members excluding Australia and New Zealand.

First harbour: Primary operational harbour (Fiji)
Next harbour: Planned next harbour (Vanuatu). No PIoWR office.
High: Major seasonal-sender and/or fisheries labour priority
Medium: Relevant mobility, fisheries, or FOA context; selective engagement
Watch: Honest inclusion with limited direct PALM/RSE fit or special territorial labour regime

Melanesia

PIoWR's first harbour

Fiji

First harbour. Formal unions, Suva port and crew transit, PALM/RSE outflows, and C188 fishing-labour gaps.

Institute deep dive

First-harbour operations: fishers, seafarers, and port-linked workplace relations
ILO C188 / fishing-vessel labour standards advocacy and union capacity support
PALM and RSE worker rights, recruitment fairness, and returnee support
Helping national unions reach domestic, informal, and seasonal workers
FOA and collective bargaining practice for neglected sectors

Full brief

Melanesia

High

Papua New Guinea

Largest Pacific labour market — extractive and urban formal work beside vast informal, rural and household labour.

Institute deep dive

Support national unions to reach informal, domestic, and rural workers
PALM/RSE fair recruitment and worker rights as participation grows
Fisheries and coastal labour standards (C188-related)
FOA practice and collective bargaining capacity in neglected sectors
OSH and violence-and-harassment risks for women workers

Full brief

Melanesia

High

Solomon Islands

Growing PALM/RSE sender with significant fisheries and coastal work, and limited coverage of seasonal, domestic and fisher workers.

Institute deep dive

PALM/RSE fair recruitment, agent practices, and worker voice
Fisheries and coastal labour standards (C188-related)
Strengthening national unions for seasonal, informal, and domestic workers
FOA and grievance pathways for overseas horticulture workers
Remittance and returnee reintegration workplace-relations support

Full brief

Melanesia

Next harbour (planned)

High

Vanuatu

One of the largest Pacific suppliers to RSE and PALM; remittances and circular migration sit at the centre of many communities.

Institute deep dive

PALM and RSE worker rights, agent practices, and grievance access
Helping national unions organise and support seasonal and returnee workers
Domestic and informal household work visibility
Fisheries and coastal labour standards awareness (C188-related)
FOA and collective voice for neglected Melanesian workers
Remittance and community impacts of large-scale labour mobility

Full brief

Melanesia

Watch

New Caledonia

Distinct labour regime under French law, with nickel, public-sector and Kanak/Caledonian workplace questions.

Institute deep dive

Honest territorial notes: French labour code and domestic-worker collective agreements
Comparative learning on household-worker coverage for Melanesian peers
Melanesian regional solidarity without claiming PIoWR operations on-island
Watch mining, public-sector, and FOA dynamics for context only
No PALM/RSE seasonal-sender framing

Full brief

Micronesia

High

Kiribati

Remittance and maritime labour economy — seafarers and fishers, with growing PALM participation.

Institute deep dive

Seafarer and fisher decent work, repatriation, and vessel labour standards
ILO C188 / MLC-related awareness for maritime workers
PALM seasonal worker rights and fair recruitment
Strengthening national union capacity for maritime and migrant workers
Remittance-dependent household risks and domestic/informal work visibility

Full brief

Micronesia

Medium

Marshall Islands

Compact labour mobility to the United States, plus fisheries and a thin formal domestic market.

Institute deep dive

Flag-state and fishing-vessel labour standards awareness (C188-related)
Seafarer and fisher rights messaging in Micronesia
Domestic and informal work visibility
FOA literacy where union coverage is thin
COFA / overseas Marshallese worker rights learning

Full brief

Micronesia

Medium

Nauru

Small formal labour market shaped by public employment, regional processing work and limited mobility options.

Institute deep dive

Fair treatment and rights literacy for Nauruan PALM participants
Basic FOA and employment standards awareness in a small labour market
Informal and household work visibility
Regional Micronesia fisheries labour-standards information sharing
Avoid overclaiming — small scale, selective support

Full brief

Micronesia

Medium

Palau

Compact and tourism labour market with foreign workers in hospitality and a small national workforce.

Institute deep dive

Domestic and household worker protections awareness
Migrant worker rights in tourism and services
Fisheries and coastal labour standards literacy (C188-related)
FOA capacity where coverage is thin
Micronesia peer learning — no operational overclaim

Full brief

Micronesia

Watch

Federated States of Micronesia

Compact mobility to the United States, outer-island livelihoods, and a thin formal union landscape.

Institute deep dive

Fisheries crew and coastal worker decent-work awareness (C188-related)
FOA and workers' voice literacy where formal unions are thin
Informal and household work risks, especially for women
COFA / overseas Micronesian worker rights learning (not PALM-centric)
Regional information sharing via Micronesia peers

Full brief

Polynesia

High

Samoa

Major Polynesian labour-mobility society; remittances and RSE/PALM work are central to household livelihoods.

Institute deep dive

PALM and RSE worker rights, recruitment fairness, and grievance access
Helping national unions support seasonal and returning workers
Domestic and informal household work visibility
Remittance-linked family and community impacts of labour mobility
FOA awareness for workers outside traditional formal-sector coverage

Full brief

Polynesia

High

Tonga

Long-standing RSE and PALM sender; remittances are a structural part of the economy and family life.

Institute deep dive

RSE and PALM worker rights and fair recruitment
Supporting Tongan unions and worker organisations for seasonal returnees
Domestic and informal work visibility, especially for women
Remittance-dependent household risks and community impacts
FOA literacy for workers outside formal public-sector coverage

Full brief

Polynesia

Medium

Cook Islands

Free association with New Zealand; local labour shortages sit beside outward mobility and tourism work.

Institute deep dive

Awareness of migrant and foreign-worker protections in tourism and services
Support for local workers' associations on FOA and employment standards literacy
Watch intra-Pacific labour mobility design so sending-country workers are not left unprotected
Household/domestic and informal work visibility
Learning exchange with Polynesian peers on remittances and circular mobility

Full brief

Polynesia

Medium

Tuvalu

Very small labour market; seafaring, climate pressure and seasonal mobility shape household incomes.

Institute deep dive

Rights protection for Tuvaluan PALM and maritime workers
Seafarer/fisher labour-standards awareness (C188/MLC-related)
FOA and workers' voice literacy at micro-state scale
Climate-linked mobility and remittance household risks
Domestic/informal work visibility

Full brief

Polynesia

Watch

French Polynesia

French labour law, tourism and maritime work, with a distinct territorial employment regime.

Institute deep dive

Honest territorial labour-context notes (French Polynesian labour code, not PALM/RSE)
Comparative learning on domestic-worker coverage and collective agreements
Maritime and fisheries neighbour awareness in eastern Polynesia
FOA practice under French overseas labour institutions (watch only)
Regional solidarity messaging without claiming operational jurisdiction

Full brief

Polynesia

Watch

Niue

Tiny labour market in free association with New Zealand; most working-age people live or work offshore.

Institute deep dive

Workers' rights awareness in a micro-state labour market
Watch intra-Pacific receiving-mobility design for Pacific migrant workers
Household and informal work visibility
New Zealand–linked circular mobility and remittance context
Selective learning support only — no scale claim

Full brief