Australian and New Zealand business and trade union leaders in the transport sector are meeting in Sydney.

Australian and New Zealand business and trade union leaders in the transport sector are meeting in Sydney to map out joint initiatives to help Australasian companies with a footprint in the Pacific Islands and Papua New Guinea to employ more Islanders in their regional labour forces.

The Sydney workshop, the first of a series of joint business and union initiatives across six industry sectors, has been convened under the auspices of the Pacific Growth and Employment Project - an initiative established by the recent regional partnership agreement between the Australian government and the International Labour Organisation.

The government and the ILO have asked the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Australian Council of Trade Unions, supported by the Australian Industry Group and Business New Zealand and the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, to administer the project.

The transport industry workshop will be followed by workshops involving the tourism, fishing, public sector, agricultural, resources and energy sectors.

"Australia may be an island continent but our industry plays a vital role in global supply chains. Some of our companies in the transport sector have important commercial footprints in the Pacific Islands, and that footprint helps sustain local jobs and economic activity in smaller nations" says Peter Anderson, Chief Executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

"The ILO project is a great opportunity for corporate leadership by our business community, and can contribute to stronger economics and communities in our region."

Sharan Burrow, Immediate Past President of the ACTU and General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation said "the Pacific Growth and Employment Project is a grassroots initiative that can lift living standards of working people in smaller nations through jobs and decent work."

"The message sent by unions and industry working together to strengthen regional labour markets is powerful and provides an opportunity for outcomes from these workshops to be pursued by governments, industry and union leaders to remove impediments to greater Islander employment."

Statement by Peter Anderson, ACCI Chief Executive and Sharan Burrow, General Secretary International Trade Union Confederation