Skilled labour migration from Fiji to other Pacific Island countries is a new trend of migration whose future is yet to be mapped. While the main reasons for labour migration from Fiji to other metropolitan countries were based on economic and/or political insecurities, the main reasons for migration in this study were more economic and social in nature. While international migration (and labour migration at that) for Fiji is dominated by Indo-Fijians and is permanent or long term in nature, this study shows an opposite effect, where intra-regional skilled labour migration is dominated by ethnic Fijians and is temporary in nature.
The few differences discussed here regarding these patterns of labour migration bring the issue of ethnic tensions and differences in Fiji to the forefront. More research is needed in this field and other questions such as the social and economic costs of labour migration, other labour migrant communities, as well as return migration for Fiji still need to be studied.
Earlier studies focusing on Indo-Fijians identified insecurity and fear of the future, economic and political, as key motives for emigration from Fiji. My study, which focuses instead on indigenous Fijians, finds that they are emigrating to other parts of the Pacific not because of insecurity at home, but in order to make the most of better economic and social opportunities elsewhere, and that they have every intention of returning to Fiji.
What is more remarkable is that the temporary nature of this skilled migration (clearly spelt out in the legal provisions of travel and temporary work and in the generous contracts) is further supported by the prevailing socioeconomic environments and the geographical proximity of those countries to Fiji. Those conditions have provided a perfect scenario for temporary migration of skilled indigenous labour from Fiji to fulfil their socioeconomic aspirations in a most cost-effective manner. Based on this study, it seems that the success and future of this trend of intra-regional migration in the Pacific rests largely on one crucial aspect of temporary labour migration: that it remains just that — temporary.