Across the Pacific Islands, trade unions are joining forces to amplify their voice and power through the Pacific Island Council of Trade Unions (PICTU). Their mission is to stand in solidarity for workers’ rights, climate justice, and fair migration, because the challenges facing the region demand collective action.
Pacific workers are on the front lines of climate change, with rising sea levels, extreme weather, and food insecurity threatening livelihoods. At the same time, labour mobility schemes, while offering vital income for workers and their families, too often come with exploitation, family separation, and gaps in healthcare and services at home. These issues don’t exist in isolation; they’re interconnected, and unions are addressing them together.
A regional movement takes shape
In late March, union leaders from Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, and the Cook Islands gathered in Nadi, Fiji. This wasn’t just another meeting—it was a strategic push to align priorities, share solutions, and plan joint action. Alongside PICTU, global partners like the ILO, ITUC Global, and union federations joined the work, forging stronger ties and a network to build stronger capacity to advocate for workers’ rights.
Action for climate justice and gender equality
Women leaders took centre stage, addressing the double burden of gender discrimination and exclusion in workplaces, unions, and society. They shared their work and struggles for gender justice and mapped out a regional work plan to strengthen policies for women and women’s leadership in national unions and in PICTU. Young leaders are also being supported with training, ensuring the next generation is ready to lead.
Climate justice is another critical battleground. Pacific unions are analysing the impacts of climate change on workers in each country, sharing existing advocacy efforts to push for policies that protect jobs and communities, and preparing a united platform and statement of priorities on process and policy for COP31 in 2026 to be held Türkiye and chaired by Australian and the Pacific. The goal is to ensure Pacific workers’ voices are heard on international climate finance, just transition, and sustainable development policies.
The Partnerships for Decent Work in the Indo-Pacific program is supported by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
