Post Courier; Friday 18th July
CAA strike fear
AIR services in Papua New Guinea could be disrupted today if the three Civil Aviation unions decide to go on strike.
Civil Aviation Authority chief executive officer Joseph Kintau could not be contacted last night to comment on the planned strike.
The action stems from the management’s failure to address issues related to outstanding public service entitlements and others.
However, a senior officer in CAA, who did not want to be named, last night brushed aside rumours of the strike saying they were not true.
The officer said although the news on the streets by the members of the union is that the strike will proceed today, certain procedural requirements were not followed and that there is nothing officially notifying the management that a strike is planned to proceed.
The union in a letter dated July 17, demanded that a new enterprise agreement should be resolved between CAA management and the combined CAA unions to cover the full payments of all accrued public service entitlements for staff.
They are demanding:
* ALL outstanding accrued public service entitlements of all staff shall immediately be paid after calculations are agreed to between the individual staff concerned, the union and CAA management;
* ALL outstanding accrued public service entitlements of all staff shall immediately be paid after calculations are agreed to between the individual staff concerned; the union and CAA management
* CPI adjustment that have been awarded to public service up to 2008 and up to the date of the new enterprise agreement shall be paid to all the staff
* THE PBSS salary increments that have been awarded to public service up to 2008 and to the date of the new enterprise agreement shall also be paid to the staff
* THAT MILOL, MILOF, ex-gratia and POSF shall be adjusted and paid to all staff up to the date the new agreement, after the salary rates have been adjusted upwards by the movements in the CPI and PBSS up to 2008;
* ALL staff be paid their full leave fares entitlements equivalent to the normal public service entitlements; and
* ALL parties must enter into negotiations immediately to conclude an industrial agreement to provide for all terms and conditions of employment for all staff employed in the CAA. This included the corporate organisational structure of all CAA entities and placements of staff against specific positions.
The senior officer said they were watching from the grapevine that there could be a strike and that they were hoping that the unions would not go on strike.
MEANWHILE, the Air Niugini CEO Wasantha Kumarasiri said last night he was aware of the strike threat by the CAA unions and was urgently putting in stringent measures in case the strike really proceeded.
Mr Kumarasiri said, however, that they were hopeful that the issues would be resolved and that all will be normal today. The strike, if it goes ahead, will disrupt flight services provided by Air Niugini and other airlines.
“If the strike goes ahead the flight coming in from Singapore to Port Moresby in the morning has to be diverted to Cairns, this if the situation warrants, we may have to divert the plane to Cairns,” Mr Kumarasiri said.
He said not only that but also there was the issue of the landowners at Kokopo who threatened to close the Tokua Airport today as they want to negotiate compensation with their provincial government relating to land issues.
Members of the PNG Air Traffic Controllers Association, Civil Aviation National Technical Staff Association and the PNG Airport Fire Fighters Association were planning the strike.