Since taking on teaching the topic of Industrial Relations I have come to realized how important Industrial Relations are in every nation. Here in PNG we major on Human Resource and absorb Industrial Relations into Human Resource however Industrial Relations should be viewed through a different set of eyes and not one with the HR lens. On top of that we also have a union body that is almost covered over and not allowed to play its role effectively in society. Either because they are suppress by the government and employers or they have just lost their creativity to grow and remain active and vibrant in the community.
Papua New Guinea inherited its IR policies from its colonial masters. PNG’s IR system is a product of colonialism (imbun) generally, the colonial state and settler capitalists in PNG were responsible for providing the employment that consequentially contributed to industrial relations. Only a handful of literature on PNG history attempts to explain the imperialGerman rule of New Guinea or its recruitment and utilisation of labour. In this context labour history takes the form of processes the imperial German government exercised in bringing local villages under their control. According to Waiko Germans appointed local headmen, known as luluais, to exercise direct control over villages. The luluais were often under the authority of a German administrative officer who had to control the district in order to make it safe and profitable for investment and business. Much of the discussion pertains in particular to the endeavours of the New Guinea Company in administration of the colony and its economic pursuits in making profits from using local and indentured labour to work copra, cocoa, and tobacco plantations. In the writings utilisation of labour during the German control of New Guinea had been seen as just one aspect of convenience to make the investment in administration, plantation yield profit.
However, there is a limited amount of literature on British and Australian colonialadministrations in the country. Some of the literature documented Britishcontrolled Papua and documented mainly independent white alluvial miners andtheir temporary native “bois”(assistants) working the fruitless Laloki gold rush of1887 he policies included introduction of indentured labour system, head tax,and educational institutions, which all paved the way for a gradual incorporationof indigenous people into the sphere of capitalism. This was basically because generally employers in PNG have been notorious for maintaining a unilateralist approach of management of workplace relations. It was particularly evident in the plantation sector where the bulk of the industrial cases were never attended to by stubborn employers. Only a handful went through the full gamut of the industrial relations. The picture remained the same in the 1990s.
The literature review on PNG industrial relations system in general manifested whatseems to be a dormant system inhibited mostly by its contextual factors. Apart from thisobvious picture, there is another implication arising from the review. That is that the analysis falls short of a complete, systemic picture. Many aspects of labour employment in PNG remain unclear. Much work is required before the body of knowledge on PNG employment relations approaches the level of the national literatures on employment in the developed world with their vast range of empirical data and numerous explanatory theories focused on specific issues such as trade union growth and decline, workplace bargaining and rule making.Research on employment and industrial relations in PNG, as is the case in most of thedeveloping world, is still in a pre-systemic stage. The theoretical explanation of industrialrelations in PNG is perhaps clearest in the context of general macro systemic theoryabout labour and the global industrialising process. MAKING SENSE OF AN IMPOSED INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS SYSTEM IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE, BENEDICT Y IMBUN, Journal of South Pacific Law (2008) 12(2)
As such we inherited a dormant system of both labour Relations and Unionism the pre-colonial years saw a growth in unionism and into post years as well. As the nation progress into the 90’s Union presence in PNG seem to lose touch with the general community with member numbers slowly diminishing. One reason maybe because more and more positions were being localized in both public and private sector suddenly there didn’t seem to be any more issues to address. Our fathers fought foreigners for the right to be accepted the right to be treated equally for better work benefits and recognition in the work place and when nationals started taking over these positions they became a bit lost as what to tackled next. During that time the economy also went into recession leaving workers no choice but to omit union fees for extra buck back into their pockets. Sadly this has led to the demise of union activities and this has had direct effect on resolving IR issues in the workplace.
We now have a system where employers have the upper hand over employees. Industrial issues in the work place are not subject to a tripartite dialogue but just the employee’s and the employer. Leaving room for exploitation and manipulation on the worker by the employer. When issues are subject to a tripartite discussion it ensures that there is a third party involve who will ensure that the discussion and views are balanced and not one sided. Most employers shun the work of the unions although they may not directly show it they will do it subtlety discouraging most employee’s from affiliating to any unions at all. Without a productive union how can we have a productive workforce?
Sadly unions have also not taken an active part to grow their membership and seem to be losing membership numbers. Is it because employees cannot see what kind of work unions are doing in society hence they don’t have faith in unions. IR issues are not always about better pay that is one of them but there are more benefits that can be secured by unions for their workers. Allowing workers the proper procedures of grievance process is one benefit that most employees don’t even have if they have an issue with their employer. So many employees end up fighting issues in court and ending up losing all the little money they have.
It took more than 20 years for the last minimum wage to be changed which was in 2016 to K3.50 and subject to review every two years. This year the review is once again up for assessment but sadly it has not taken place and we are almost into the last months of the 4Q. Which government department is responsible to ensuring that the minimum wage is implemented by employers and if they have not implemented who do this workers report the matter to?
Where have we gone wrong as a society, the middle to lower income bracket workers are sadly the hardest hit when it comes to unfair representation of their rights and benefits in the workplace. We still have an industrial act which dates back to 1962 which needs to be updated to reflect the current times. As I reflect, I realized that a productive workforce is not only about providing employment and creating jobs it is also about ensuring that workers basic needs are taken care of that they are given a voice to air their grievance and that they have an alternative place that they can go to when they feel they are discriminated at the workplace and that they are compensated at the market rate which can sustain their daily living.
Some of the best countries who ranked in the top 10 livable cities have some of the best minimum wage rate, meaning they ensure that their citizens are paid well. It is timely that we start looking into IR and minimum wage as if we are going to make this a prosperous Christian black nation it will start with having a fair representation of workers in the workplace and that we give them the benefits and compensation they deserved. We have been buying the lies of employers saying they will go bankrupt if we increase the minimum wage am sure when we do, this very institutions will also increase their revenue as people will now have more money to spend.
On the other hand as a society the government has not created any other institution apart from the Labour department whose scope of work covers a wide range of area. If we are going to improve our workforce make it a productive and prosperous one we need to have an institution where those workers/employees can come to for advice or to seek redress on grievances in the workplace. Giving workers are voice will make room for more direct inclusion of workers participation in workplace transformation. We also need to compensate people properly with timely review of the minimum wage as economic changes are unpredictable and can happen very swiftly. Therefore given a 2 year review will ensure that we keep up with current trends and compensate workers properly. When we do this I truly believe that this will have a direct correlation effect into petty crimes we see happening around us every day. Why do these lower income families have kids going around on the street engage in petty crimes simply because their take home pay is not enough to sustain their livelihood who can survive on K280 per week?
Implementing a similar Industrial Relations Policy like Australia would be beneficial to PNG as our current system is their product. However we need to work in our Melanesia concepts to localize it for our market. Creating a fair workers commission to directly look into employee’s issues and start seeking redress for a fair representation of workers’ rights and better working conditions and benefits in the workplace must be a priority. Most cases of unfair dismissal from workforce are either challenged in a legal court or the worker simply walks away. That is what FWC is all about a workplace Relations tribunal to administer a fair work place for all citizens in the nation.
As for Unions they are sleeping giants they just need to put on their creative hats and start looking for ways to grow their membership. How about building gyms and giving paid members discounted rates this directly adds to healthy lifestyle and can motivate more workers to join your union. Utilize social media platform to sell stories on what you are doing and how you are addressing issues. Make information readily available for interested clients and potential members. Be more upfront and personal with the community take advantage of career days and market days to give out phamlets and information about union activities. Start giving your members things to talk about teaming up with retail giants, car companies and hotels offering discounts on travel and certain items. I am sure that are more member benefits that unions can offer apart from just fighting for better working conditions. Start taking up cases and build stories of local heroes I believe if and when you do more people will start putting their hand up to join the unions. Barrack Obama was voted into the senate because of his favor with unions in America. Unions have a lot more influence than what we are seeing now we need to vote in union members rather than ordinary citizens so we can see the needs of the workers given more priority. It is only fair to say that as income tax is the biggest revenue tax earner for PNG.
In saying that there is a lot more that needs to be done on Industrial Relations and Unionism in PNG. Our current system is dormant and fragmented with limited literature being provided. The idea of a fair workers commission should be a must and this will also give rise again to the role of unions in society. A prosperous healthy and successful society is built on the backbone of a productive and satisfying workforce.
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