Trade union development in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

[Extract] Papua New Guinea achieved independence from Australia on 16 September 1975 and was proclaimed the 142nd Member of the United Nations less than a month later. It became a Member of the ILO on 1 May 1976. Meanwhile the Papua New Guinea Trades Union Congress (PNGTUC) had applied for and was granted affiliation to the ICFTU.

Before the Second World War, trade unionism in Papua New Guinea was restricted mainly to European employees, although a big (but un-successful) strike by native workers in 1929 did show that consciousness of exploitation was growing. The gold miners' strike of 1941, which led to the formation of the New Guinea and Papua Mineworkers' Union, was a purely European affair.