Beyond development impact: gender and care in the Pacific Seasonal Worker Programme

ABSTRACT

Close to 17,320 workers participate in the Seasonal Worker Programme, a temporary migration scheme between Australia and selected island countries in the Pacific. This article looks at the ways in which seasonal migration affects the social lives of migrants from Tonga and Vanuatu, in their households and communities. It explores the various barriers that women face as a result of this scheme, highlighting, in particular, imbalances in the gendered division of labour caused by the absence of males due to migration. It argues that focusing solely on the economic development discourse of seasonal labour programmes is problematic because it fails to take into account the normative dynamics and general context of seasonal workers. Such an approach also fails to take into consideration the rights of migrants to live with their families, and not to have to make choices that are shaped by physical separation from their families and communities. The article concludes with recommendations for policy reform that address the existing gender inequalities of seasonal worker programmes in the Pacific by putting work, care, and the everyday maintenance of the seasonal worker household at the centre of its analysis.

Ce sont près de 17 320 travailleurs qui prennent part au Seasonal Worker Programme (Programme des travailleurs saisonniers), un programme de migration temporaire entre l’Australie et des pays insulaires choisis dans la région du Pacifique. Cet article examine l’incidence qu’ont les migrations saisonnières sur la vie sociale des migrants de Tonga et de Vanuatu, au sein de leurs foyers et de leurs communautés respectifs. Il se penche sur les diverses barrières auxquelles se heurtent les femmes suite au programme, et souligne en particulier les déséquilibres sur le plan de la division du travail fondée sur les sexes causés par l’absence d’hommes en raison des migrations. Il soutient qu’il est problématique de se concentrer seulement sur le discours de développement économique des programmes de travail saisonniers parce qu’on ne prend alors pas en compte la dynamique normative et le contexte général des travailleurs saisonniers. Une approche de ce type ne tient pas non plus compte des droits des migrants à vivre avec leur famille, et à ne pas devoir faire de choix qui influencés par la séparation physique de leur famille et de leur communauté. Cet article se termine par des recommandations de réforme des politiques générales qui cherchent à remédier aux inégalités existantes entre les sexes présentes dans les programmes destinés aux travailleurs saisonniers dans la région Pacifique en plaçant le travail, les soins et l’entretien quotidien du foyer des travailleurs saisonniers au cœur même de son analyse.

Cerca de 17,320 trabajadores participan en el Programa de Trabajadores Temporales, un plan de migración temporal establecido entre Australia y varios países insulares del Pacífico. El presente artículo examina las maneras en que la migración temporal incide en la vida social de migrantes procedentes de Tonga y Vanuatu en términos de sus hogares y sus comunidades. Al respecto, analiza las distintas barreras enfrentadas por las mujeres por causa de este programa, destacando, en particular, los desequilibrios que se generan por motivos de género en la división de trabajo debido a la ausencia de los hombres que migraron. Resulta problemático, sostiene el artículo, el hecho de que los discursos en este ámbito se centren exclusivamente en el desarrollo económico que conllevan los programas de trabajo temporal, pues éstos no consideran las dinámicas normativas y el contexto general de los trabajadores temporales. Por otra parte, el enfoque centrado en lo económico deja de lado el derecho de los migrantes a vivir con su familia y a no tener que tomar decisiones que impliquen la separación física de ésta y de su comunidad. El artículo concluye proporcionando recomendaciones orientadas a reformar políticas públicas en las que se abordan las desigualdades de género existentes en los programas de trabajo temporal en el Pacífico, centrando su análisis en el trabajo, el cuidado y el sostenimiento cotidiano del hogar del trabajador temporal.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender
• migration
• Seasonal Worker Programme
• labour mobility
• Tonga
• Vanuatu

Acknowledgements

This study was conducted as part of the World Bank's Development Impact Evaluation of the SWP that explored the social impact of seasonal labour migration on participating households and communities in Tonga and Vanuatu. The qualitative component of the World Bank's social impact evaluation fieldwork was funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's (DFAT) Pacific Integration, Labour Mobility and Security Cooperation Branch within the Pacific Division, and the Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development programme. The findings, analyses and interpretations presented in this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank and DFAT.

Notes on contributor

Priya Chattier has more than 15 years of research experience in the Pacific Islands as a Gender Specialist and is currently a Senior Research Consultant at a consulting firm based in Canberra, Australia. Postal address: c/o the Gender & Development Editorial Office. Email: [email protected]

Notes

1 The prospects for economic growth in the Pacific Islands are often constrained by their smallness, isolation, and vulnerability to natural disasters making trade relations extremely volatile with fluctuating Gross Domestic Product (Kautoke-Holani 2017).

2 Social inequalities between women and men in Pacific societies have been well documented in feminist ethnographic discourses of the 1970s and 1980s (Jolly 1994; Jolly and Macintyre 1989; Strathern 1987). The earlier academic research has often focused on gender relations, gender ideologies, and gendered inequalities relating to production, consumption, and distribution of household resources, assets, and wealth. More recent studies from the Pacific have noted the changing nature of the socioeconomic contexts in the Pacific Island countries and the associated impact on gender relations and women’s and men’s realities and statuses (Macintyre 2017).

3 Participants gave their informed consent to take part in this study. For ethical considerations, their privacy is protected through de-identification of data.

4 For a more detailed discussion on the methodology, methods, sampling size, and selection of participants across Tonga and Vanuatu, see Chattier et al. (2018).