DLIR to boost manpower

By NIDRA KEWERE MAPI
THE Department of Labour and Industrial Relations (DLIR) is expected to have a new staffing structure under the foreign employment division to provide effective and efficient services for work permit processing.
Additional staff will be recruited to deal with important areas such as screening, assessment, compliance and inspection of work permits.
DLIR secretary David Tibu said the biggest problem faced by the foreign employment division was the quantity and quality of staff.
He said that there was a shortage of the number of staff and lack of highly competent workers who had the right qualifications, skills and the right attitude of work.
In a media statement, Labour and Industrial Relations Minister Mark Maipakai said the new structure would significantly increase the human resource capacity and provide a platform upon which service levels and processing times of work permits could improve.
Mr Tibu said there were 62 positions, 35 existing and the rest were newly created.
He added that recruitment of the new staff was expected to start as soon as possible once the Department of Personnel Management (DPM) approved it.
He also mentioned that the restructure proposal had been submitted in July but they had not received any formal correspondence from the secretary of the DPM as to why the proposal had not been approved or if there were changes or amendments to be made.
Mr Tibu said the new structure would significantly have the following outcomes;
lMore efficient and timely processing of work permits;
lIncrease in processing, screening and assessment capacity;
lEnhance compliance and inspection;
lProvision of inspectors at key entry points;
lHelp the business industry by having efficient work permit processing which contribute in a significant way to the country’s economic growth; and,
lSafeguard the nation’s interests by ensuring that foreigners and PNG citizens comply with the law on foreign employment in PNG.
The whole exercise would cost more than K2.9 million under the 2008 Budget appropriation in which K800,000 will be for salaries alone, Mr Tibu said.