The Allied Tradesmen, Construction and Mining Workers Union of PNG will be officially launching its’ establishment tomorrow at the Sir John Guise Indoor Stadium in Port Moresby.
National General Secretary Mr Benjamin Trinity Yalo said the Union which was officially registered by the Office of the National Registrar on February 23 this year is mainly focused on serving and attending to the needs of the blue-collar workforce in the country which includes workers from the oil and gas and petroleum sectors.
“The union was established recently under the industrial relations act of Papua New Guinea for workers in the mining and construction industries and tradesmen workers across the country.”
“The purpose of the organization is to represent our blue-collar workforce in PNG as they have been a forgotten workforce since independence.”
“For close to 46 years, workers in the mining sector, especially the oil and gas and petroleum and energy sector have been neglected and for that reason, Allied Tradesmen, Construction and Mining Workers Union of PNG was established to accommodate this blue-collar workforce and will be officially launching our Union at the Sir John Guise Stadium tomorrow,” Mr Yalo said.
The launching will be officiated by the Prime Minister James Marape with PNG Trade Union Congress’ John Paska as the guest speaker and Mr Powes Parkop NCD Governor, Industrial Registrar Helen Saliu and the minister responsible for Labor and Employment Relations Mr Kapil being confirmed to attend the event as well.
All 26 sister trade unions in the country have been invited to attend the launching event as well as students and representatives from TVET institutions around the country. Also attending the launching will be employees and workforce from the mining industry.
Mr Yalo said so far, there has been a widespread interest for membership to the union and they have already registered a good number of members.
“We have received and registered over 3000 membership applications from the blue-collar workforce and at present there are 13 branches of Allied Workers Union across Papua New Guinea to service the needs of the workforce,” Mr Yalo said.
Mr Yalo further highlighted some of the main focus areas or notable benefits of the Allied Tradesmen, Construction and Mining Workers Union of PNG and they are as follows:
- To represent the workforce and be a mouthpiece for the workforce and advocate on issues affecting the workers
- Legal assistance in the event that a member is terminated without any valid reason
- Welfare funds for affected family members
- Savings and Loans Society for members
- Life Insurance apart from what the employers offer
The event which is said to attract interest from the general public as well will be taking place from 12noon to 4pm tomorrow at the Sir John Guise Indoor Stadium in Port Moresby.