Non-citizens will be required to train a local: Minister

All non-citizens coming into the country for jobs will be required to train a local within three years of their employment period.

Minister for Labour and Industrial Relations, Mehrra Kipefa, said this will be a condition, after admitting that there are a lot of loopholes that need to be addressed with the issue of work permits.

The Department of Labour and Industrial Relations is looking at improving the terms of conditions of non-citizens coming into the country for employment.

“With work permits, we will incorporate every training part of it, after every three years, every person that comes in must train a local trainee,” stated the Minister.  

“Without training a local trainee, after three years their permit won’t be reviewed. This is one of the stringent measure that we are now taking on board and featuring to control the influx.”

While concerns have been raised over foreign construction workers coming into the country, the minister said: “Sometimes it’s because of the project given by the government, we have a lot of influx of workers coming in.

“As far as the statistics of the foreigners coming in, those who follow the proper channel, we have them documented, but those who are here without proper entry, we have no idea where they came from.

“This is one of the things that the government needs to put its feet down to look at cross border issues and the illicit trades, one of the very important things because slowly it’s decaying society.”

He added stringent measures will soon be introduced.

“We’re not just looking at it, we are devising structures to curb and control the inflow, sometimes we need to say no and control. But it requires everybody to work on, from the Government, secretaries and the public service.

“Labour department is taking these issues, sooner stringent measures will be coming on all public agencies to control the influx of foreigners coming in to a position, a job that PNG can have.”

Author: 
Sally Pokiton