The CEO of Telikom Limited, Mr. Amos Tepi, has provided an update to current and former staff regarding the final entitlements and payments made to personnel who have exited under the ongoing organizational restructure.
Mr. Tepi said there has been some misunderstanding with some departing staff in relation to commitments they had made from their salaries for personal loan repayments to banks and other financial obligations they had signed.
“I am very mindful of how emotional this issue for all involved because we are dealing with incomes and employment prospects,” Mr. Tepi empathised.
“That is why the company has allowed this process to evolve over the past four years so affected staff have time to plan, and so Telikom could help them seek new employment”.
This is part of a much-publicised corporate transformation program that was initiated following the merger of Telikom PNG Limited and Bemobile Limited in 2021.
Staff were given advance notifications of the organisational restructure program and realignment through internal communications and Town Hall meetings of 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and the most recent Town Hall Meeting held on 12th of September this year.
“I can confirm that all employees who are leaving have been paid their full and final entitlements in accordance with applicable contractual, legal, and policy requirements.”
The staff eligible for retirement are those who have reached the compulsory retirement age.
While staff eligible for retrenchment are those performing duplicate roles, non-performing employees, or those whose positions have become redundant as technology and business conditions have changed.
Mr. Tepi said some of the departing staff had expected higher payouts, but these were affected by legal commitments they had made to come from their salaries.
“Surprisingly, the majority of the leaving staff had between four to five loan deductions already applied with financial institutions, and sadly with some loan sharks”.
“There were also other payments such as novated vehicle deductions and outstanding accommodation rental fees.”
By law, these had to be deducted from their final payout.
This is very unfortunate, and really is a note of caution to all workers around the country, that these issues are policed by regulatory authorities.
There were also some of the departing staff that had already encashed their Long Service Leave and other leave entitlements.
“This was a practice that was introduced prior to 2022, but has since been addressed by current management team.”
To date, 74 former employees who have current contact addresses listed have been issued copies of their final payslips, and the process of distributing the remaining payslips is ongoing.
It is never easy to see any employee let go, but this is the unfortunate reality as the business is evolving so that it can be sustainable, and privatised in the future.
“Telikom will continue to work with the employees who have left and help where we can to find new employment, and also to make sure that the details of final entitlements are clear and transparent.”
