Source: Namorong Report

[This post contains comments from people on Facebook in response to the photo below posted by someone on Facebook]

Ramu Oil Palm Palm workers must dig and plant 70 to 80 seedlings per person per day. Hard working labourer expects Sixty Toea for the job done for one seedling. An oil palm worker who has to harvest 400 oil palm bunches in order to make K40.

If a labourer’s day start at 7am and finishes at5pm with an hour for belo, thats 9hrs work/day hence, take 70seedling transplant to work out; 70/9 = 7.77 seedlings per day or 72 seedlings planted per day. That would give K43.20/day. If he works 10 days a a FN, he would earn K432.00. This is better and far above MinWage than a labourer would in any other commodities like Coffee or Cocoa Industry. The only questions are; Can a labourer plant 8seedlings per hour daily and are they paid that amount on their FN day? Lets hope Ramu Oil Palm (NBOP) does pay them their due.

Ramu oil palm workers Definitely earn K176 per fortnight. I am with workers right now.

If you say they get K176/FN then either the labourers are planting less (my estimate based on earlier cal = 4/hr and 8hr/day ops) this would give K162 +-K14. OR, the company is simply not paying them right… over to the Labour Dept and Minimum Wage Office.

This Oil Palm work does NOT compare well with growing and selling peanuts, buai, daka, melons, brus, cucumber, etc.

Surveys showed that women roadside sellers (Madang. EHP, Morobe, ENB) earn on average Kina 280-560 per fortnight

Every Papua New Guinean worker should be paid ‘living wage’ not just a minimum wage. Just because a minimum wage is legal doesn’t make it morally right if the worker can’t eat well and sleep well. I say this after having met an Engan oil palm worker who is paid 10 toea (5 Australian cents) for every bunch he harvests. This is slavery on our own land.

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THIS BLOGGER’S COMMENT

Wage slavery is the same as Chattel slavery [PEOPLE BOUGHT AS SLAVES]

Here in Papua New Guinea they promise that so called foreign investment will bring jobs. What they don’t tell you is that BLACK PEOPLE will become slaves. What they don’t tell you is that “BLACK BIRDERS” still exist.

When they take away your land for so called developmental purposes they don’t tell you they’re removing your independence and social security. They don’t tell you that they’re turning you into a WAGE SLAVE.

“Man was born free yet everywhere he walks in Chains” ~ Jean-Jacque Rouseau, French Philosopher