Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Equality of Treatment (Accident Compensation) Convention, 1925 (No. 19) - Papua New Guinea (Ratification: 1976)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition

Application in practice of the Convention. The Committee notes the statement made by the Government that the number of claims received from foreign workers by the Office of Workers Compensations is quite low in comparison to the claims from national workers. In the Government’s opinion this situation may result from the fact that migrant workers negotiate their employment contract with the employers before taking up employment in the country, and under those contracts the whole responsibility for the accident compensation obligations is borne by the employers only. The Committee understands that this arrangement may push employers to evade insuring their workers while putting pressure on them to waive their right to apply for payment of award against uninsured employers out of the Workers’ Compensation Fund as provided for in article 82 of the Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA) 1978. The Committee requests the Government to collect additional information on how this arrangement has worked in practice, and to consider what measures might be taken to raise awareness among employers of the need to insure foreign workers in the same manner as nationals, and to raise awareness among foreign workers of their rights under the Workers’ Compensation Act.