I'm still in Rotation #24 but it's nearing the end. So let me continue with part 2 of this "PNG woes" post based on what I've observed all these years working in PNG (6 years and counting). Part 1 can be found here. Here are the some more of the common problems PNG nationals encounter that affect their performance at work and my time with the them.
3. Extremely High Cost-of-Living
If
you think Aussies pay too much taxes, you're not informed well enough
because although the taxation rate in PNG is roughly the same as Australia (used to be higher than Australia),
wages can be up to 10 times lower and everyday goods like fresh
groceries in the capital city are more expensive than Australia even
after currency conversion. This is only getting worse with growing
inflation. Believe it or not, I was told that even if the company wants
to increase their salaries, they cannot because the PNG government has
policies that keep wages within a uniform band across companies of a
certain sector. Without delving into labour regulations, I can't vouch
for the truth of that statement though. What I can do is listen to my
operators' woes when they pour them onto me from every possible angle.
Apart from lending my ears and on top of my day job of being the lead
engineer ensuring safe and optimised operations, I coach and impart the
local workforce within my production team with both hard and soft skills
so they can be better-equipped to rise up the ladder and earn more that
way. That's all I can do within my power. They're aware of unions in
some of the company's Australian assets but they are not mature and
united enough to explore that in any concrete fashion, to their
disadvantage obviously.
As a result of this
financial strife, they are forced to hustle more creatively. On site, to
make ends meet, this "creativity" would take the form of a hyperactive
overtime system i.e. people stay more than their 4 weeks so they can get
double pay. The justification for overtime can sometimes be based on
the flimsiest of reasons, but managers tend to close an eye to that
because they all know the underlying struggles. Maybe they have done
their numbers and concluded that this is still cheaper than hiring more
people. Off site, they could be running other businesses (legit or
otherwise - I have an operator who pimps out 5 girls that he "takes care
of"). Hell, I was duped into importing goods from Australia. You see, I
thought I was buying stuff for his personal use and once I realised he
was reselling the clothing items with a markup, I told him I'm not going
to help him again, but that didn't stop this operator from pestering me
every now and then. By the way, thanks to PNG's "Australian heritage",
they are crazy for R.M. Williams (much like Hermès to Asians).
4. Poor Health
Because
fresh food is so expensive, and if people don't grow their own (e.g. if
they live in the cities), the consequent reliance on unhealthy but
cheaper processed and canned food leads to
poor health outcomes. They are so conditioned to eating canned food that
many of my operators choose canned
corned beef over fresh steaks cooked in the mess. Why? It's all due to
supply
and demand working its magic. A 340g tin of corned beef now costs
PGK$18.40 in PNG i.e. almost AUD$7 which is more expensive than what we
get from
Coles. Canned corned beef is now a luxury food item and that's PNG for
you. I'll not elaborate on betel nut consumption here (you can watch
this
video
if you're keen to know more), but suffice to say, years of betel nut
chewing have killed their taste buds. Hence, without even tasting the
food first, they have to add a copious amount of salt to make the
already quite savoury food served on site more palatable. I've even seen
people unscrewing the lid and pouring salt straight onto their meals,
and we all know the harmfulness of an excessively high sodium diet.
In
a country where modern medical help doesn't
usually reach the masses in time because of how remote the many
scattered villages can be (one of which is pictured above), it's no
wonder the PNG demographic is so young
(life expectancy is around 65 i.e. almost 20 years shy of Australia's).
A few months ago, one of my operators died on site from cardiovascular
complications and even though he didn't get the level of medical
attention we're used to in the developed world, he would have gotten
much worse had he been back home. I wrote about how Billy's death
affected me in this
post. Since that event, whenever my operators tell me they're feeling unwell with similar symptoms, I get edgy and start worrying.
5. Self-Inflicted Problems
Yes,
sometimes their problems are basically of their own doing. Recently,
one of my operators filmed himself in uniform going for a joyride to
off-limit areas chewing betel nut (which is banned on site), and then
uploading the clip on Tiktok, and HR caught wind of that. That
particular operator was given many warnings before for various
behavioral problems and was even demoted once, but he was never let go,
and perhaps that's why he got so daring. We're so short-staffed and
since they are so "cheap" to keep anyway, it seems on the surface to not
be a big deal retaining them. However, they are a bad influence on
others, especially impressionable apprentices, and so should be sacked
as soon as possible (and not just moved to another facility).
Also,
much of the local workforce resides in villages where they can live on
the land and so their day job is only there to earn extra money for
"luxuries" which they can give up any time (and then go back to
farming). The peanuts they get paid compared to the high taxation and
inflation add further fuel to the blaze. With that attitude, you can
imagine how motivated they are to continue delivering at the required
level and how a non-issue it is to get fired. Fortunately, that guy has
since been removed from site (he was not only a poor performer, he has
crossed me once by playing me against another person so he'll never get
my trust ever again - that's a whole different story for next time. So
good riddance). He now sits in a limbo "suspended" state as HR takes
forever to do everything, including finding a replacement. This means
that we all have to chip in to cover. We're currently short of 2 to 3
operator back-to-back roles (meaning 4 to 6 bodies) and with
cost-cutting in full swing, do you think those positions will be
replaced? I can almost hear management shouting down from high up
"welcome to the new norm!".
I can
go on and on about PNG (this 2-part post has gone far longer than originally
planned), but before I get too carried away, I'd like to stress that
this is not a whinge-fest and certainly not a move to disparage PNG
people in any way. I've struck what I'd call a perfect balance with them
on and off work i.e. we have real love for one another. For starters,
I'm totally out to them and we can even crack off-colour gay jokes
together (bear in mind that PNG is 96% Christian and extremely
conservative). That's because they knew me as a person before they knew
me as gay. In addition to the genuine glow in their eyes whenever they
see me come back on shift, and taking me out for drinks in Port Moresby
when they're on break, they tell me things that they don't divulge to other
expatriates (and sometimes even their own). That's how I know for sure
they'll have my back if and when I need support.
I
always say that PNG is a totally unique place where people can be
friendly and violent in the same measure. Yes, it's not a safe place,
but I hate it when people are plainly negative about this country and
its people without proper context and knowledge e.g. the doom and gloom
warnings they put out for visitors sans the human element. If you're
born in that environment, who is to say you'll be different? It's all
about survival and I fully understand that. Hence, from a 100%
non-judgemental position, I'm committed to helping them improve their
lives (within limits). That's how I earn their trust and respect and
that's also the source of energy pushing me to keep doing what I do.
I
don't need to tell you how tough rotational work in those parts can be,
but I'm truly enjoying myself there and that's mainly because of the
PNG people and their interesting stories (and the obvious fact that I'm
paid at a level I'm contented with). At work, we always break into
random bursts of laughter and then huddle back together to face the
challenges that pile on. There's never a dull moment. If you've not
lived in PNG or amongst PNG folk for a significant period, you'll never
grasp how one-of-a-kind this place and its people are.
