2 other cases of travel agencies offering people employment overseas without proper authorization are now before the Employment Relations Tribunal.
This has been confirmed by Minister for Employment Jone Usamate who has also issued a stern warning to Travel Agents not to send workers for overseas employment without obtaining authorization from the Ministry.
This comes after a case where a 31‑year‑old woman of Nasole, Nasinu and her sister are alleged to have facilitated the travel of 17 Fijian citizens who were exploited through slavery and became victims of human trafficking in Auckland, New Zealand in 2014.
When questioned by Fijivillage on whether there have been other cases of this nature, Usamate says that the only other significant case was failed overseas employment recruiter Timoci Lolohea who was fined $6,000 by the Employment Tribunal in 2015.
Usamate has stressed that the Ministry of Employment is closely working with the Fiji Police Force, Fiji Immigration Department and other law enforcement agencies to ensure that any case of illegal recruitment of Fijian workers for overseas employment will be dealt with within the ambit of the relevant laws.
