4,000-PLUS CHURCH HEALTH WORKERS iN PNG WAITING TO BE PAID

More than 4,000 health workers employed under the Church Health Services (CHS) are stil waiting to be paid after more than four months, officials say.

The CHS and the Catholic Church Health Services are calling on the Health Department to immediately release their outstanding pay and operational grants.

They have threatened to stop work if the problem was not addressed.

Catholic Bishop Francis Meli said the salary and operational grants from February to June as appropriated in the 2020 Budget were yet to be released. He urged the Government to oat outstanding operational grants for all church-run health worker training schools from 2017 to 2020.

They are giving the Government 15 working days to release the funds.
"An indefinite stop-work will commence at 8am on July 3 unless outstanding salary and operational grants are paid in full and cleared by the Banks," he said.
"The Government should also consider fast tracking of the Allesco payroll rollout to minimise such actions from the church health services."

Bishop Meli said the churches had their own ethics and values and to stop work or strike was always the last resort.
"But health workers and training schools have run out of paitence," he said.
"We know that it does not sit well with many but we have come to a stage where we have to make a decision for fairness and justice for our health workers nationwide."

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