The Blue Pacific Big Ocean States (BPBOS) Labour Platform plays a vital role in unifying the Pacific region regarding labor and employment matters as well as International Labour Organization (ILO) agendas. Launched in 2019, this initiative was established during a meeting of ILO Pacific member states represented by Labour Ministers in Papua New Guinea.
Fiji was chosen as the inaugural chair of the BPBOS labour platform and continues to hold this position through Agni Deo Singh, the Minister for Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations. Meanwhile, the Government of Cook Islands serves as the Secretariat.
Minister Singh, as the current Chair, emphasized the significance of the platform in amplifying the Pacific’s concerns at the International Labour Conference and within the Asia Pacific Group. He noted the Labor Ministers’ strong focus during the last Pacific Tripartite High-Level Forum in 2019 on the necessity of presenting a unified voice for the Pacific, particularly on issues like decent work, labor rights, and climate change on the international stage.
To further the aims of the BPBOS labour platform, a successful two-day meeting took place on August 26-27, 2024, in Auckland, New Zealand, to evaluate the draft Terms of Reference for the BPBOS Labour Ministers’ Platform.
Minister Singh also expressed gratitude to the Government of Cook Islands for its role as Secretariat, acknowledging the participation of Anne Herman, Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Miriama Herman, Social Impact Fund Officer. He extended his appreciation to the ILO Office for the Pacific Island countries for fully funding the meeting and for their ongoing support in promoting social justice among ILO Pacific Islands member states.
Singh was joined by Deputy Secretary for Employment Atish Kumar and Senior Ministerial Liaison Officer Elina Vuniwa, with strong backing from the Fiji High Commission and Fiji’s Trade Office in New Zealand.