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Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Papua New Guinea (RATIFICATION: 1976)

The Committee notes with deep concern that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments. The Committee informs the Government that, if it has not supplied replies to the points raised by 1 September 2023, then it may proceed with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the information at its disposal at its next session.

Repetition

Legislative matters. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted the Government’s indication that the new Industrial Relations Bill (IRB 2014) was undergoing a vetting process at the Government Executive Committee and the Central Agency and Consultative Council to harmonize it with other relevant legislation and that the revised Bill should be presented to Cabinet before November 2016 or early 2017 and consultations on the matter should be held in the national Tripartite Consultative Council.Noting that the last information sent by the Government through an anticipated report dates back to 5 January 2017 and that its 2018 report was not received, the Committee hopes that the Government will provide in its next report information on the outcome of these consultations and whether the IRB 2014 has been enacted.

Article 1 of the Convention. Adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination. The Committee had previously requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure effective implementation of the prohibition of anti-union discrimination in practice and to provide statistics on the number of anti-union discrimination complaints brought before the competent authorities, their follow-up, sanctions and remedies imposed.Noting that the Government did not provide specific information in this regard, the Committee reiterates its previous request.

Article 4. Promotion of collective bargaining. Power of the Minister to assess collective agreements on the grounds of public interest. The Committee had previously requested the Government to take the necessary measures to bring section 50 of the Industrial Relations Bill (2011) into conformity with the principle that the approval of a collective agreement may only be refused if it has a procedural flaw or does not conform to the minimum standards laid down by general labour legislation. While observing once again that the Government does not provide a copy of the Bill, the Committee takes note of the Government’s indication that section 50 of the IRB 2014 has been amended and that under the revised version the Attorney General is not entitled to appeal against the making of an award on the grounds of public interest.

Compulsory arbitration in cases where conciliation between the parties has failed. While recalling that it had noted the conformity of section 78 of the IRB 2014, as described by the Government, with the Convention, the Committee notes that the Government has still not clarified the content of section 79 of the IRB 2014. The Committee trusts once again that the Government, taking into account the Committee’s comments, will ensure the full conformity of any revised legislation with the Convention. In this regard, the Committee encourages the Government to avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office, if it so wishes and requests it to provide detailed information on the process of revision of the Industrial Relations Bill.

The Committee expects that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.