Rosso backs deal between port operator, landowners

The National Momase

AN agreement between a port operator and landowner companies in Lae takes into account the interests of all parties, Lae MP John Rosso says.
The Philippine-based International Container Terminal Services Incorporated (ICTSI) will be the port operator.
The 25-year concession leased to ICTSI by the Government had raised the concerns of wharf workers and landowners.
Rosso said the agreement signed recently in Port Moresby had put the interests of workers, operators and landowners first.
The agreement stipulates that:

  • No current worker will lose his or her job;
  • all workers will absorbed into the new structure;
  • training and up-skilling for workers will be provided;
  • the Maritime Union will continue to represent workers; and,
  • The hiring of foreign workers will be kept to a minimum and an exit strategy will be in place for them in the first 12 months.

“Before agreeing to the points in the MoA, we have done our fact-finding with the ICTSI and are satisfied with what we have agreed upon,” he said.
Rosso said the tendering of the contract by the government was done some years ago but many were surprised that a contractor had been selected.
“People were misled then that many people will lose their jobs, foreign workers will be recruited and local landowners and companies will miss out on spin-offs,” he said.
He said they were not true as the agreement mentioned different conditions.