Telikom refining workforce, Patel says

 By HELEN TARAWA
Telikom PNG will have to improve the skills of its workforce to keep up with the dynamic technology industry, says chairman Mahesh Patel.
Patel told The National the company would continue a spill-and-fill exercise to get the right skills for the right jobs.
Responding to comments by the PNG Communication Workers Union regarding the exercise which the union claims would see about 400 employees made redundant by December, Patel said the matter was still in court.
“As for graduates, they come in on a probation and training and also may be rotated in different departments, and almost 95 per cent are retained for long-term roles,” he said.
PNG Communication Workers Union president Nug Mamtirin claimed that under the exercise, Telikom was using the employees’ service entitlements to settle its bills which he described as incorrect.
“If it was a normal redundancy exercise, we will accept the fact that everyone is responsible for their own debts,” Mamtirin said.
“The exercise was forced upon the employees and the union is saying that Telikom is supposed to take ownership and write off all the debts.
“This is not happening, instead management is using the service entitlements of these employees who have been serving the company for the last 30 to 40 years to write off all the bills.
“Our retirement age is 55 and maximum is 60 and many of these employees refute what the board and management have claimed that those terminated were over 50.”
He said those terminated had families to look after.