PNG Nurses Association urges Governments to resolve Bougainville entitlements issue

President of the Papua New Guinea Nurses Association, Frederick Kebai, is calling on the Department of Personnel Management in the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) as well as the National Government to address issues surrounding industrial awards for nurses in the region.

He says nurses must receive their long-overdue entitlements.

Mr. Kebai recently visited Bougainville to discuss expediting the vetting process under the Department of Personnel Management with nurses, government authorities, and local stakeholders.

According to the Nurses Association, Bougainville has approximately 300 nursing officers, with community health workers bringing the total healthcare workforce to nearly 1,000.

Mr Kebai said despite multiple industrial awards for nurses over the years, Bougainville’s workforce has not benefited due to bureaucratic mix-ups and cumbersome processes between the ABG and National Government’s Personnel Management departments, compounded by administrative red tape.

During his visit, the nurses’ president met with ABG Department of Health Secretary Clement Totavun, noting that the ABG’s December 2024 deadline to resolve the issue had lapsed.

He emphasized that health and personnel management departments from both governments must collaborate urgently to support these frontline workers.

Mr Kebai attributed the delays to Bougainville’s health system operating under two separate legal frameworks: the National Government system and the ABG’s autonomy arrangement.

Speaking from Port Moresby, Frederick Kebai asserted that the nurses’ issues could be swiftly resolved if the region’s health system operated under a single governance structure.