Pacific Islands Forum Leaders have endorsed the establishment of a regional Labour Ministers Meeting, marking an important step towards strengthening regional cooperation on labour and workforce issues across the Blue Pacific.
The decision was taken at the 55th Pacific Islands Forum, held in Koror, Palau, from 31 August to 3 September 2026.
In their Communiqué, Leaders recognized that labour and workforce governance have emerged as strategic regional priorities, with implications for economic resilience, labour mobility, skills development, workforce sustainability and inclusive growth.
Calls for a Pacific Labour Ministers Meeting date back to 2019. A turning point came at the Pacific Labour Ministers Meeting in Nadi in May 2026, convened with ILO collaboration, where Ministers agreed to advance establishment of the meeting within the Pacific Islands Forum regional governance architecture, while maintaining tripartite engagement.
Martin Wandera, Director, ILO Office for Pacific Island Countries said "The endorsement by Pacific Leaders is a significant step towards giving labour and workforce issues the sustained political attention they require across our region. A dedicated Labour Ministers Meeting provides an important platform for Pacific governments to work together, and through social dialogue with employers' and workers' organizations, on shared challenges including labour mobility, skills, employment, social protection and the future of work."
The new ministerial mechanism will complement the Forum Economic Ministers Meeting and Forum Trade Ministers Meeting. Leaders noted that a dedicated Labour Ministers Meeting would provide leadership on labour and workforce priorities and, together with the other ministerial mechanisms, strengthen policy coherence, regional coordination and implementation of the Resources and Economic Development priorities of the 2050 Strategy.
The ILO welcomes this important development and stands ready, within its mandate and as appropriate, to provide technical assistance in support of the Labour Ministers Meeting and implementation of its agreed outcomes. This will build on the existing ILO-PIFS cooperation framework, formalized through a five-year cooperation agreement signed in 2024.
Source:
Fifty-Fifth Pacific Islands Forum Communiqué, Koror, Republic of Palau, 31 August-3 September 2026
