[Source: AP Photo]

Pacific island envoys in Australia will gather to discuss a labour scheme that has been criticised as being a breeding ground for slavery-like conditions.

Tens of thousands of islanders including Fijians are in Australia as part of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme that provides visas for short and long-term stints working in areas like agriculture, horticulture and meat processing.

The federal government has committed to improving the scheme and ensuring employers comply with regulations as workers and human rights groups raise concerns about exploitation.

Australian Employment Minister Murray Watt will host the heads of missions from Fiji, East Timor and eight other Pacific island countries that are part of the scheme in Canberra on Monday.

Watt says engagement helped bolster the scheme’s success and strengthened Australia’s relationships across the Pacific.

Changes to protect workers’ rights included a minimum hours’ requirement for employers to pay workers for at least 120 hours over four weeks to ensure they can cover accommodation and other costs.

Compliance monitoring for employers and other safeguards have been put in place to minimise the potential for exploitation in with scheme, Senator Watt said.

Watt says the Albanese government has zero tolerance for worker mistreatment in the PALM scheme.

The roundtable follows United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery Tomoya Obokata investigating the scheme as part of a recent tour to Australia.

He found credible evidence of excessive wage deductions, unreasonable requirements, racial discrimination, dangerous working conditions, harassment and sexual and gender-based violence.

The annual PALM meeting was held in Brisbane in November and Fiji’s Employment Minister Agni Deo Singh led a delegation to Australia in October.