Papua New Guinea Country Reporton Occupational Safety and Health (OSH)CANDIDATE INFORMATION AND DETAILSNAME OF APPLICANT:Adrian Kinau MAIKAIORGANIZATION/DEPARTMENT:
National Department of HealthYEARS OF WORK EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD OF
INDUSTRIAL/OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH- I specialize in the area of policy development and implementation however I don’tnecessarily possess industrial/occupational experience in the area of occupational safety andhealth My participation in this training is the result of my Government’shealth.
Government s request to JICA totrain PNG government officials in preparation for APEC 2018. Thus, as a member toCommittee on APEC Policy Issues (CAPI), I was granted this rare privilege to undergo andparticipate
ti i t ini thisthi training.
t i i COUNTRY BACKGROUND
Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a country in the Oceania Region thatoccupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, The western
provinces of Papua
p andhalf of New Guinea forms the Indonesian p
West Papua. Also located to the North of Australia.
 Capital City: Port Moresby
 Total Populations: 7 million (2011 Census).. Estimated at10 million today Land Mass: 462,840 km2 (178,704 sq mi) Government: Unitary Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy (Queen Elizabeth

II Represented by Governor General as in all Commonwealth Countries)

PNG shares b

 Status Quo of industrial/occupational accidents
andd occupational
il diseases
di- Currently unknown or unclearly ( current records cantshow the true/correct status quo of OSH in PNG- This is primarily attributed to several defects identified in
the current OSH System in PNG

 Defects of OSH in PNG
1. Many Laws dealing with OSH matters. As such too many Government agencies
involved. No single
g Policyy and legislative
gframe work for OSH
2. Current PNG OSH laws are outdated and have outlived their useful lives
The scope of the current OSH laws is very narrow and piecemeal by design which creates an
unfair 'playing
playing field in the market place and gross discriminations against a significant number ofworkers who are not covered.
- These laws inherited the prescriptive form of legislation typical of thecolonial era that has evolved in a piecemeal reactive manner.
-3. Many employees do not have a safety policy, Safety Management Systems orworkers compensation policy, These oversights tend to enable them to avoid the cost ofOSH therefore do not register
gworkers compensation
pclaims.
4. There are no adequate statistics of the shift of costs related to employees withpermanent injuries resulting in loss of employment in the rural and urban areas
5 Lack consistent national reporting system thus,
5.
thus it does not accurately reflect anaccurate National profile on OSH in PNG.

 Data Collection Methods for Statistics
 Papua New Guinea currently has a very fragmented and weakdata collection system. PNG lack consistent national
reporting system that can capture real-timereal time statistics using
methods relevant and necessary to the country.
 Papua New Guinea has neither comprehensive nationallysynchronized OSH research strategy nor national reportingsystem for occupational accidents, diseases and ill-health.

 Current Laws and Regulations
gin PNG Industrial Safety,Safety Health and Welfare Act of 1961,
1961 supported by theIndustrial Safety, Health and Welfare Regulation 1965 (Cap 175A)
 Explosives Act 1953(Cap 308)308), Explosive Regulation 1956
 Inflammable Liquids Act 1953(Cap 311), Inflammable Liquid Regulation

1968
 Trade Licensing Act (Cap 96). These excludes the Mining legislations.

NOTE: PNG Gained Independence in September 16th 1975 Labor Inspection System in PNG
 The current labour inspection
psystemyof PNG is veryy weak andare non-existence across most parts of the country, similar to thedata collection system.
y This is mainly
mainl dued e to;
1. Institution and Human Resource Capacity Constraints
2. Not clear Legislative and policy framework in place Workers’ accident compensation
pInsurance Only one major organisation regulating worker
worker’ss compensationcompensation. That is the Office ofWorkers Compensation
 Compensation is only for actual injuries but not occupational diseases that are contracted
at the workplace. In addition, significant categories of workers are excluded from theright to compensation.
 No responsible organization or agency to actually carry out research or tests to provide
scientific evidence of a work related disease to substantiate claims forwarded to theOffice of Workers Compensation
 Workers’
W k ’ compensationti schemes
hare based
b d on a trade-off;t d ff workers
k acquirei theth righti ht tot
compensation from a state compensation fund (regardless of fault) for injuries and illhealth caused by work but forfeit the right to institute civil claims for damages againstth i employer.
theirl
EEmployerslare required
i d tto pay an assessmentt tto ththe Compensation
Cti FundF dand are insulated from the possibility of costly civil claims.

 Safety of equipment and facilities inyour country As a result
l off a non existence
ioff proper OSH System, iti isi quitidifficult to identify/determine of equipment and facilities until aproper audit and assessment of facilities.
facilities This audit is done by a different Gov’t agencies across the country,
municipal authorities but not coordinated by an agency as OSH
system However,
However companies and industries responsible for such equipment
equipment'ssand facilities play a vital role to ensure compliance to safety andhealth, especially in the extractive industries (Mines, Gas & OilFields) Training Education Programs
 Appropriate

training and education program on Occupational
Safety and Health related issues are non-existence or if available
are not part of overall training and education program on OSH
th t Government
thatGt offers.
ff Training institutions/organisations in different fields do emphasis
safetyfas major
jpriority.
i i
EE.g:
engineering,ii
pilot,
il
medicaldi lprofessionals, and technical fields.
 Many private
iorganisations,i iespecially
i ll theh organisations
i ii theinhmining and petroleum sector facilitate OSH training for theiremployees.
employees

 OSH in PNG in Summaryy Papua

New Guinea does not have a well-established andfunctioning Occupational Safety and Health System that canadequately and efficiently eliminate or minimize the number ofwork-relatedwork
related accidents and diseases in Papua New Guinea.

 Outdated Legislations, No OSH Policy
 Weak Institutional framework
 Weak Inspection System Weak or No proper OSHRM and Risk Assessment
 Weak workers compensation Wayy Forward – In improvingpg OSH inPNG1.

PNG OSH laws, institutions, administrative systems and values urgentlypoverhaul. ((Currentlyy in Progressgwith facilitation ofneed complete
single Policy and OSH Bill to Parliament for enactment)

2.

ENFORCEMNENT- OSH legislationgenacted in terms of the integratedg
OSH system must be effectively implemented and enforced if accidents
and diseases are to be prevented.

3.

NETWORKING- Foster professional and institutional networks with
development partners and countries, with experience and knowledge inOSH

 Conclusion
 Analysis of the current OSH System in PNG reveals significant defects

and shortcomings.
 This shortcomings presented understanding on institutional, policy andlegislative constraints hindering effective and efficient management ofOSH System in PNG
 Papua New Guinea Government now understands and recognises the needfor a single OSH Policy and Legislations that enables a conducive
environment
it forf OSH.
OSH
 Measures to improve OSH in PNG has now completed with the OSH

P li andd Bill now before
Policyb fLegislature
L il tandd Government
Gt forf enactmenttt