Mandatory policy must go through Labour Dept: Manning

By GLORIA BAUAI
National Pandemic Response Controller David Manning says any company policy enforcing mandatory vaccination has to go through the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations.
Manning was responding to reports of companies in Lae forcing employees to resign or be terminated when not complying with their vaccination policy.
According to former electrical trainee with Mainland Holdings Limited and media spokesperson Maiwilie Gunua, more than 100 people previously employed with Mainland Holdings Ltd under its subsidiaries were now unemployed as a result of the policy.
Manning said if anyone has been terminated, they should take issue with the full protection of the law.
“There are avenues of addressing these concerns by both parties,” he said.
Manning said he appreciated that these policies by businesses were for their survivability in this trying times, however, rights of their employees must also be reserved.
He also took note of the risk and security concerns by business houses in Lae who were faced with the issue of high vaccine hesitancy at the workplace.
“I acknowledge that most businesses in Lae rely on an expatriate workforce and importation of a lot of technical equipment and assistance,” he said.
“We’ll be working on providing solutions for them; we’re all about encouraging businesses to continue to operate but, of course, in a safe and very responsible manner.”