Airline association elects union reps

By DANIEL EALEDONA
A UNIONISED workforce is an important part of the economy and employee disputes must be addressed adequately to ensure smooth delivery of services, according to the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations.
Industrial registrar Helen Saleu said the department was supported by the Electoral Commission (EC) in its directives to establish workers union partnerships with government agencies.
Saleu said this during the National Airline Employees Association (Naea) announcement of its executives in Port Moresby on Friday. She added unions were not easy to manage.
“Employees are an important part of any economy that is why employee disputes especially at a State-owned enterprise (SoE) that provides services to the public must always be addressed accordingly and through set legal and administrative processes,” she said.
Unions are guided by its laws and constitution that are in line with the country’s labour laws and regulations, unions push for reforms in employee grievances, like salary and benefit pay issues, worker safety, job security and employee rights.
Air Niugini, as an SoE, employs about 2,200 persons; 80 per cent of the airline’s employees are Papua New Guineans.
Naea is the workers union responsible for addressing issues affecting Air Niugini’s employees.
The EC helped facilitate the election of new Naea executives as it is mandated to do.
Returning officer Desmond Timyaso said 2020 president Joe Kaspar and senior vice-president Simeon Ealedona retained their positions, while new treasurer Allan Mek and junior VP Daphne Maren won by majority votes.
About 800 employees voted in the election of the executives.