Resource Owners Federation welcomes FIFO ban

Resource Owners Federation President Jonathan Paraia.

By NOBERT KOKE

THE Resource Owners Federation of Papua New Guinea (ROFPNG) has commended Minister for Immigration and Border Security Petrus Thomas to ban Fly-in-Fly-out (FIFO) work roster system used by the extractive and other industries in the country.

In welcoming the decision, the resource owners believe that billions of kina leaving the shore of PNG will remain and circulate in the country.

The FIFO practice has seen Papua New Guinea lose billions of kina in disposable income and other benefits over many decades to foreign countries.

President Jonathan Paraia said, “This practice was first introduced by OK Tedi, Porgera and Lihir mines which has not only seen the loss of disposable income of the employee but has also denied the project area of social, economic and infrastructure development which could have improved the life style of the citizens of those areas and the country generally”.

He further said that the resource owners of this country have persistently complained about the FIFO system to successive governments for decades through the media and other media platforms but no action was ever taken.

“There was not action taken by any government to ban the system, for reasons only they can explain. It is their deliberate negligence that has seen the loss of billions of kina to the country.

“The Federation has not yet identified any country in our region, which allows foreign employees to work in their countries on a Fly-in-Fly-out basis. Instead the foreign workers are required to live in the countries of employment with their families for the duration of their employment contracts.

“This requirement ensures that the country and its community in which the foreign employees work benefit from the disposal incomes of those workers. For example, some Papua New Guineans work and live in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Africa and other countries, but they do not fly-in-fly-out from Papua New Guinea on regular basis,” Paraia said.

He added that the Federation expects that the proposed policy, if adopted will see a significant development.

“We will see quality infrastructure in housing, health, education and commercial facilities, to service none fly-in-fly-out communities of employees who will now live and spend their disposable incomes within the country thus, boosting our economy,” Paraia concluded.