Cheating workers

LET us give the PNG Workers a means of reporting or dobbing in employers who are not paying them correctly.
Many companies still paying K2/hour. Not paying overtime or superannuation long service leave, holiday pays and most probably no taxes.
Establish a hotline where employees can ring with their concerns and the Labour Department without employees being in danger of losing their jobs.
Obviously they have to have proof of what they say, not just a grudge against their employer.
Companies who fail to pay proper wages have an unfair advantage against their competitors
I know myself sometimes/many times paying three, four and five times as much hourly rate than other builders. Just can’t compete.
On top of this many supply cheap materials.
Note not only minimum wage but right pay to trades people, office staff and all positions.
Although the other end of the scale the likes of the mines are paying big rates making it hard to keep good workers also.
My daughter worked in a retail food store in Port Moresby and was being paid K2.50/hr and working a lot of overtime as were many others.
No overtime paid.
If they complained got sacked too scared to go to Labour Department. This is all over PNG. Its national and expatriate companies doing this.
The other major problem is companies paying their workers right and even very good wages and conditions.
But when they get subcontractors to do work for them they get the cheapest price from companies cheating their workers.
PNG people find it very hard for surviving day to day with housing, food, clothes, school fees, travel, sickness and etc. This only makes it worse.
No doubt another major cause of crime as they can’t make payments to people they loan from at sometimes ridiculous interested rate that they had to accept as no other alternative.
This country has so many business and companies paying the right wages and looking after their employees, but they are being penalised because they can’t complete with the ones who willingly break PNG Law.
Soltra Builders wants to start a campaign to get businesses that can prove they do the right thing by paying all wages, superannuation taxes and only use sub-contractor who does the same this includes Government Departments.
Let’s get the ball rolling & get help the average PNG worker.

Bill Hodges
Owner /Manager
Soltra Builders