Strike

Maiha said the reasons they stand for are genuine but the actions to justify their motive is not warranted. 

It has been 3 days since a nationwide strike was announced by the National Weather Service Working Committee.

Maiha stated that while the management understands the urgency to address the 9-year salary issue, holding the public at ransom is uncalled for.

The management of the weather service slammed the actions of the Working Committee as the issue at hand is in the process of being addressed.

National Weather Service officers, following their March 16^th petition to the Transport Department, have waited for 3 weeks for the Department to rectify the workers’ 9-year salary discrepancy issue.

The 21-day notice served to the Department of Transport lapsed yesterday (April 5) thus, nationwide strike is the only option the weather officers will resort to at 4:06pm today if nothing favourable transpires now until close of business.

The National Weather Service officers are giving the Transport Department until close of business on Thursday, April 5^th, to address this issue.

In the petition presented by workers of National Weather Service to the Secretary of Transport Department, Roy Mumu, on Friday March 16^th, they demanded their salary discrepancies be addressed by pay 7 on Wednesday March 28^th.

Following the petition, the Weather Service workers served a 21-day notice for Transport Department to respond.

Secretary Roy Mumu confirmed the current revised departmental structure that was due for presentation last year will be revisited and adjusted in light of the strike.

Mumu said given the experiences of the last 7 days, the organisational structure for the department and its line agencies will be revisited to tie all loose ends and more importantly, account for the welfare and needs of the weather officers.

This was the result of a consensus reached with the Department of Transport.

Secretary of Transport Department, Roy Mumu, identified that the core issue has been the outdated salary structure for the last 9 years, which has been used to pay the weather officers.

Mumu said this issue will be further dissected by revising the salary structure, identifying the affected staff and implementing adjustments accordingly.

It will come into effect at close of business today (January 5).

The National Weather Service says it is reviving the stop work after the Department of Transport failed, yet again, to amicably address the concerned issues on time as verbally assured.

The initial intention for this industrial action was merely placed on hold due to the following reasons:

Staff went on strike as of 8am this morning and plan to extend to a week if responses to two petitions are not met by management.

Mathew Som, a spokesperson on behalf of staff, spoke to Loop PNG from Lae saying that strike is over pay rise increments and staff overworked without being compensated.

He said firstly, staff salary increments were made by a toea or two annually, which they say is not right since the Bank of PNG has ceased circulation of the one toea and two toea coins.

Staff want salary increments to be increased to around 50 toea or more.

But if the Writers Guild of America is not able to agree to a new contract before May, it all could come to a screeching halt, nearly a decade since the union's last strike that lasted 100 days and carried a billion-dollar price tag.

At issue: The WGA's three-year-contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) is about to expire. Among the Guild's requests are higher pay for TV writers and more funding toward healthcare.

This comes after what the communication workers Union President Nug Mamtirin deemed was an unsatisfactory reply by the Prime Minister to their 9-point petition.

The Prime Minister in a letter dated 21^st February said industrial issues are to be dealt through the office of the industrial registrar thus he has directed Chief Secretary Isaac Lupari to seek advice from the Registrar before the government can address the issues contained in the petition.

Her campaign against a controversial security law had led to her being detained, and forced fed through a tube in her nose, for over a decade.

She was held under a law that makes attempting suicide a crime.

The court in northeastern Manipur state granted her bail on Tuesday and asked her to reappear on 23 June.

Ms Sharmila has signed a personal bail bond and is expected to be released after bail procedures are complete.

It is not clear when she will formally break her fast.

'Different agitation'