THE assistant General Secretary of PNG Trade Union Congress, Anton Sekum has expressed his concern on why the review of the Industrial Act 1962 and the Employment Act 1974 has not progressed over the last 15 years.
Sekum stressed that these vital pieces of legislation were enacted by the colonial administration to progress economic development hence leans heavily towards employers at that time up until now.
Sekum said PNGTUC now knows at least why the progress is slow and it is frustrating.
“Money spent on personal enrichment is one reason but most importantly keeping a senior executive of an employer organisation group particularly the employer’s federation of PNG happy is in very bad stage,” he said.
Sekum said the holding of PNG workers at ransom for decades must now come to an end.
Meanwhile Sekum said the Government must set up a Commission of Inquiry (COI) against allegations of corruption raised by the suspended Internal Auditor of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) Richard Pangwinyen.
“The PNGTUC and its affiliates including the silent majority of over 1.2 million workers in PNG demands that the Government through the PM to expeditiously set up a COI or other high-level investigations into DLIR and fix up this important economic ministry,” he said.
Sekum said the investigations must cast its net low and as wide as it could to clean out the DLIR.
He said this would include revisiting the auditing and finances of the Minimum Wages Board of 2013/2014.
“Where there is smoke, there is fire and the allegations raised by the suspended DLIR Internal Auditor under the Whistle Blowers Protection must now flag the Government to taken actions immediately,” he said.
