Union urges govt to call off SOE during sitting

National

THE PNG Trade Union Congress (PNGTUC) wants the Government to call off the state of emergency (SOE) in tomorrow’s Parliament sitting, secretary-general Clemence Kanau says.
Kanau said a consensus had been reached by major trade unions through their leaders on Friday.
“We call on the Government to lift the SOE with restrictions maintained at our international borders and only at localities that are classified as hotspots,” he said.
Kanau said with an estimation by two major superannuation funds, over K600 million was expected to be paid out collectively to members whose jobs were affected by the Covid-19.
“Nasfund expects around 20,000 job losses,” he said.
“It has a budget of K260 million parked aside to ensure all affected, get their savings after due process and requirements are met. If Nasfund’s prediction is any indication, Nambawan Super Ltd with K345mil parked aside is possibly expecting around 30,000 job losses.” Kanau warned that emotions all around were high which provided the perfect fuel for chaos if the SOE was prolonged.