Unions are not strong in the country however the Employment Relations Act 2012 sets out very clearly the requirements of employers in the Cook Islands. The unskilled sector has a high dependence on immigrant labour from Fiji, the Philippines and Indonesia (of the estimated 14,000 population on Rarotonga around 3,000 are foreign workers) who tend to stay for only a short time. In the skilled sector workers from NZ also tend only to work 2 or 3 year contracts before leaving.
As a result there is a shortage of labour in all sectors.
Labour Rate(s) Overview |
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Cost Rate as of 03-09-2018 |
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Daily General Worker (Unskilled casual labour) |
NZ$7.25 |
USD$4.79 |
Daily General Worker (Semi-skilled labour) |
$NZ8.00 |
USD$5.28 |
Skilled Worker |
NZ$8.50 - 15.00 |
USD$6 - 9.90 |