22 February 2018

THE Ok Tedi Mining Ltd has sacked a group of employees who were staging a protest at the mine site…telling them in a letter that their action was “illegal”.

…Employees…claimed there were 191 of them who were issued termination letters… were told to leave the site on a charter flight….

Henry Kuso, a spokesman for those who arrived at Jackson Airport….

Ok Tedi managing director Peter Graham…confirmed…that the protest had not affected the company operations.

“The industrial action was illegal since it did not follow the grievance process and was not supported by the union,” he said.

The protest was to follow up on their demand to:

• Change to current the 2/1 (two weeks on, one week off) roster for shift workers;
• Change their current contract; and
• Renegotiate the industrial agreement.

Kuso said the company had promised when it resumed operation in March 2016 following the drought in 2015 that it would review some of their work conditions and benefits.

“It has been two years since the resumption following the drought. Some of the things the company promised to do, it failed to honour...”