Mine group sacked

The National Main Stories

By SHIRLEY MAULUDU
THE Ok Tedi Mining Ltd has sacked a group of employees who were staging a protest at the mine site on Tuesday, telling them in a letter that their action was “illegal”.
Some of employees, who arrived on a charter flight yesterday in Port Moresby, claimed there were 191 of them who were issued termination letters on Tuesday. They were told to leave the site on a charter flight yesterday.
Henry Kuso, a spokesman for those who arrived at Jackson Airport, in Port Moresby, yesterday, said the company arranged three charter flights yesterday out of Tabubil in Western.
Mining Minister Johnson Tuke was unable to comment when contacted yesterday.
Ok Tedi managing director Peter Graham could not be reached for comment yesterday. But he had confirmed with The National on Tuesday that the protest had not affected the company operations.
“The industrial action was illegal since it did not follow the grievance process and was not supported by the union,” he said.
“Management is addressing the matter in accordance with company policy and the employee terms and conditions.”
Department of Labour and Industrial Relations Secretary Mary Morola told The National yesterday that the department was yet to be informed of what happened at Ok Tedi.
“All I can advise is that the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations has not been officially informed of the Ok Tedi matter on staff terminations,” she said.
Kuso told The National when the group of sacked workers arrived at Jackson Airport that their sacking was because of the protest on Tuesday.
The protest was to follow up on their demand to:

  • Change to current the 2/1 (two weeks on, one week off) roster for shift workers;
  • Change their current contract; and
  • Renegotiate the industrial agreement.

Kuso said the company had promised when it resumed operation in March 2016 following the drought in 2015 that it would review some of their work conditions and benefits.
“The protest (on Tuesday) was to raise our grievances to the management,” Kuso said.
“It has been two years since the resumption following the drought. Some of the things the company promised to do, it failed to honour.
“We had just a peaceful sit-in protest to get the company to come and have a face-to-face discussion with us.”
He said they had talks on Tuesday with the acting general manager who “never got back to us, not even the human resources division”.
“We sat from 6am to 4pm. We were surprised in the evening when a team from the Asset Protection Department delivered our termination letters.
“Some of us were given the termination at night while they were asleep.
“Their termination letters were shoved under their doors.
“They were advised to leave in the morning (yesterday).”