International news briefs

Workers oppose PNG Telikom deregulation

The Papua New Guinea Communications Workers Union will take industrial action to protect PNG's telecommunications utility, Telikom. A bill to remove Telikom's monopoly of telecommunications services and deregulate the industry is before parliament. Moves have been reported in the PNG press for a foreign company to be invited into PNG to compete with Telikom.

Zimbabwe health workers resume strike

Striking nurses and junior doctors in Zimbabwe continued their week-long strike in defiance of labour minister Nathan Shamuyrira who threatened "serious consequences" if the strikers did not return to work on October 28. Zimbabwe's 160,000 public sector workers ended a two-week strike on September 4, pending negotiations with the government over their outstanding demands. The workers, who won a pay rise of 27%, were demanding 60% and the reinstatement of their annual bonus. The government has since reneged on holding talks. Nurses and junior doctors resumed the strike on October 21 and the rest of the civil service may soon follow suit.

Porgera applies for increased tailings dumping

The Porgera gold mine, high in the mountains of PNG, looks set to repeat the mistakes of Ok Tedi, said the Mineral Policy Institute on October 28. The mine, jointly owned by several Australian mining companies and the PNG government, have applied to the PNG government to increase the amount of mine tailings dumped into local rivers to more than four times the current rate for the next 10 years."If the Porgera Joint Venture is serious about working with the people affected by the mine, and is not looking to repeat the mistakes of other Australian mining companies in PNG, then they should be looking to resolve the main areas of conflict with the landowners, not quadruple the amount of tailings", the MPI's Bob Burton warned.

From GLW issue 253