Airline management to meet with union after call for industrial action

THE Air Niugini management will meet with the National Airline Employees Association (NAEA) on Thursday following a call for industrial action by its members following the delay in reviewing the industrial awards for Air Niugini ground workers.
NAEA president Samson Nul said NAEA members in the review called for an increase of K350 to the current K650 housing allowance per fortnight.
Close to 200 Air Niugini ground staff and NAEA members of its 1001-member union led by general secretary Edward Foe and Nul held a meeting yesterday outside the Air Niugini head office during lunch time calling for the management to fast track its industrial awards.
The assistant general-secretary for Trade Union Congress, Anton Sekum, also attended the meeting.
“It is taking too long to negotiate it and have it signed,” Nul said.
Foe said the industrial award expired every three years – the last one having expired last year.
“The employees currently are working on an expired award,” he said.
Air Niugini managing director Alan Milne in his response to The National yesterday said: “I must admit I was a little surprised by the union’s position as we have a meeting set for this Thursday as a follow up to the first meeting on July 16 we had with them.
“The first meeting was very fruitful and we walked out with an agreed position that we need to address these issues as a team. We either all win or we all lose together.”