As part of the Pacific Climate Change Migration and Human Security (PCCMHS) programme, the ILO Office for Pacific Island Countries is supporting the Kiribati Ministry of Employment and Human Resources (MEHR) to formulate an action plan on reintegration of returned migrant workers through a consultative process.

One component of the PCCMHS programme is aimed at building capacity to implement labour migration policies and programs.

In 2015, the Kiribati Government developed the country’s first National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP) and Action Plan, acknowledging the importance that the labour migration sector played in the economy of the country. The need for effective reintegration of returning migrant workers was also acknowledged and included in the National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP) and Action Plan. In the context of labour migration, reintegration entails supporting labour migrants to return safely and rejoin the family, community and societal domains they left behind.

The government and other key partners such as employers, trade unions, civil society organizations and other non-government entities have an important role to play in terms of providing support services to returning migrants.

A review of the NLMP conducted by the ILO in 2019 found that ‘the introduction of reintegration measures for returned workers is a priority’. Developing a reintegration program is also included in the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP 2019-2022) and therefore, it was identified as a priority for ILO to support the Government and other tripartite constituents to develop the reintegration action plan.

Through a consultative process with key stakeholders, the Kiribati reintegration action plan for returned migrant workers is being developed. To this end, the ILO has reviewed the existing policy landscape, support services and identified potential gaps that can be addressed through a reintegration action plan. A consultation workshop with the ILO tripartite constituents and key stakeholders was held on 16 March 2021 to obtain inputs to develop the draft reintegration action plan. The draft reintegration was subsequently updated and the validation workshop on 31 August 2021 was an opportunity to identify the priority activities for implementation and to finalise the action plan.