Prime Minister James Marape emphasized that the government’s stance on the COVID-19 vaccination remains non-compulsory.
When Parliament resumed yesterday at 2pm, the Open Member for West New Britain Sasindran Muthuvel queried the Prime Minister’s response to the ‘no jab, no job’ policy being implemented by certain private companies that is instilling fear and costing the status of employment for citizens in the country.
PM Marape assured Parliament and the citizens of the country that the government’s policy regarding the COVID-19 vaccination remains non-compulsory.
On Friday last week, staff from the Lae International Hotel protested in front of the hotel’s premises. They made claims that some of their colleagues had lost their jobs due to the ‘no jab, no job policy’ that is currently being pursued by certain companies.
The Prime Minister said companies do have a prerogative to ensure work place safety, which is in the realm of company management and also clarified that there has been no industrial dispute raised by the responsible agencies.
He said, “Mr Speaker, I made it absolutely clear as I was then, and as I am today, there is no industrial dispute that has come to government through the department of labor or through us government and that there is a experience now on no jab, no job sort of situation per se.”
PM Marape said the National Control Centre has been tasked to investigate the issue in Lae.
“Government being responsible, has sent (the) Controller himself as well as a team from the National Control Centre to go and meet with Lae Chamber of Commerce to find out exactly what are the work place related issues,” he added.