The labour contract, a formal agreement between employer and employee over critical labour and living conditions, provides the framework around which everything else that concerns that relationship revolves. In this study, the contracts and terms of conditions were very important because 72 per cent of the respondents indicated that these had influenced their decision to find employment in Kiribati and the Marshall Islands. Employment contracts for the nurses and teachers in both countries generally varied between two- to three-year terms, which were renewable annually after the successful completion of the first term, or contracts were reviewed annually and renewed as negotiated by the employers and the Fijian migrant. For instance, for teachers in the Marshalls, employment begins with a probationary period, which lasts for the first 12 months of the two-year contract. Wages are paid fortnightly in 26 pay periods a year, for which 10 months are basically for teaching work. The remaining two months are allocated for national holidays, including a spring and semester break.

The Marshall Islands is an independent republic which was under American occupation and subsequent administration from 1943 to 1979. The Marshalls became self-governing in 1979 and independent in 1986, entering into a Compact of Free Association with the USA, which retains long-term control over the Marshalls’ defence and economy. The compact has recently been renewed. Given that history, the Marshalls’ currency is the US dollar and is generally twice as strong as the Fijian dollar. This currency differential is an added bonus for the Fijian migrants.

For instance, registered nurses in Fiji generally start at the salary level of a staff nurse at $F10,920, which increases gradually to $F15,409 by the time they have worked for at least 12 years in the service (FNA 2002: 62 ^[1]) and at least 87 per cent of Fiji’s nurses fall into this salary category. In this study, 90 per cent of the nurses who moved to Kiribati and the Marshalls were qualified staff nurses from Fiji. On arrival in the Marshall Islands, the salary scale of the Fijian nurses began at $US18,000 ($A24,000), an equivalent of about $F40,000. This represented a huge increase for women who were still working as staff nurses. It meant that staff nurses working in the Marshalls were receiving the equivalent of the salary of the Principal of the Fiji Nursing School, or more. Indeed, the salary differentials in this case were too overwhelming to resist.

Note: Conversions based on May 2002 exchange rates.

Source: Fiji Nursing Association 45th Annual General Meeting Report, March, 2002, p. 62.

In the case of teachers in Fiji, the starting salaries of graduate teachers began at $F17,283 and increased gradually to $F39,516 for principals (PSC 2003). Yet, the Fijian teachers in the Marshall Islands generally started at about $US16,380 ($A22,072), the equivalent of about $F37,000. Therefore, the starting salary of an assistant secondary schoolteacher in the Marshalls was equivalent to that of a principal at a secondary school in Fiji. The issue of yearly increases and bonuses for the teachers in the Marshalls has not been factored into the salaries considered above. In this case, the salary differentials again were too good to resist for the Fijian migrant teachers in this study. Consequently, about 51 per cent of the total migrants indicated their salary differentials as a distinct advantage of their migration.

Note: July 2002 exchange rates.

Source: Public Service Commission, 2004, 2003 Civil List — Making A Difference, Suva: PSC.

All the Fijian women in this study were paid on a fortnightly basis according to their contracts. About 18 per cent of them were able to graduate to a higher scale of pay (apart from the regular increments), while 82 per cent remained on the initial salary scale they had been hired at. The main reason for the stagnation of the women’s salary scale was that the women had just started working in their host country. Most of the women who had received salary increases had received them only once at the time of this research with the exception of a woman who had received three increases, in 1994, 1995 and in 2002. She was working as a nurse at the time of this study. As well, about 53 per cent of the women also received the 13th salary (a mandatory annual year-end additional monthly salary ^[2]) even though it was not specifically stated in their contract, while 47 per cent could not say whether they received this salary as they were not aware of the concept. The 53rd-week salary (which applied only to people paid weekly and only for times when the work year had 53 weeks), did not apply to the migrant women as they were receiving fortnightly pay.

The majority of the migrants enjoyed medical benefits. For instance, about 83 per cent of the Fijian women received free or subsidised medical coverage depending on the seriousness of each medical case. The nurses in the Marshalls indicated receiving free medical treatment was part of their package, excluding illnesses that needed special medical attention. The latter medical needs are met by their employers and subsidised by the health insurance scheme the nurses are affiliated to. On the other hand, 12 per cent of the women workers indicated not being included in any medical coverage (hotel workers and a maid) and 5 per cent of the women were not aware of this benefit being granted them.

All the teachers in the Marshalls are included in the Group Health Insurance scheme for civil servants, receive sick leave and personal leave, and can be awarded compensation for on-the-job injuries. They are also eligible for medical care at 7 per cent of their gross earnings — a sum divided equally between the employer and the migrant teacher.

The employers also provided either a housing allowance or accommodation for the duration of the contract, as well as return transportation costs for the migrant and his/her family and possessions from the point of hire to the Marshalls and Kiribati at the successful completion of a contract. The teachers at the University of the South Pacific–Republic of the Marshall Islands Joint Project were provided free daily transport to and from work. On the other hand, the teachers working at Church of God High School in Tarawa, Kiribati, lived in the school compound and did not need transport, though this was provided for medical trips to the hospital. Meanwhile, nurses living on Kwajalein (a US military base) were provided with daily ferry and taxi tickets to and from the Ebeye Hospital where they worked, whereas the nurses living on Majuro were provided with subsidised transport to and from the hospital. Travel and meal allowances were paid out during night shifts, which also involved a special pay rate, and about 82 per cent of the Fijian women migrants were given transport to and from work, the majority of whom (59 per cent) enjoyed subsidised transportation paid for by their employers.