Rona Nadile

Dr. Rona Nibeta Nadile (born 1951)[1] worked for the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations (DLIR) of Papua New Guinea, with a focus on legal frameworks for managing foreign workers.[2] In 2009 the Westpac Women in Business Awards recognized her contributions to the public sector with the Cardno Acil Public Sector Award.[2] A few years later, she was dismissed after exposing political corruption within the national government, twice.[3]

Education

Nadile grew up in Samarai, Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, before traveling to the provincial capital, Alotau, to attend Cameron Secondary School. She left in 1971 to attend Kerevat National High School, an 11-12 grade government-funded school in Kerevat, East New Britain. She graduated from there and later sat on its Board of Governors.[4][5] A graduate of University of Papua New Guinea, class of 1976, and Goroka Teachers' College, she then went on to study at the University of Reading, UK, and the University of South Australia in Adelaide, South Australia. At Australian National University, her Ph.D. thesis was entitled: "In search of a vocation: The case for vocational training in Papua New Guinea."[6][7] Finally, Nadile studied at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.

Nadile is a member of the US Embassy's PNG-USA Alumni Association, recognizing Papua New Guineans who have participated in U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs.[8][9]

Career

Longstanding tensions between immigrant and overseas workers in PNG motivated the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations to encode laws to clarify the administration of work visa. Nadile fostered collaboration between government, industrial, and civil sectors in PNG during the process of crafting and implementing these new laws. Their goal was to ensure that companies could hire foreign workers where appropriate, without impacting the employment of PNG's citizens.[2]

Nadile's work included explaining the following requirements for workers visas to the public:[10]

  1. Language
    • The Employment of Non-Citizens Act of 2007, Section 17 - Language Requirements, states: "(1) The Secretary may not grant a work permit unless the Secretary is satisfied that a noncitizen is proficient in English, Pisin or Hiri Motu."[11]
    • The Work Permit Guideline published on January 1, 2009, by the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations tasks itself with "Undertak[ing] an assessment of the applicant’s English language proficiency."[12] The Guideline outlines a variety of ways that an individual may prove proficiency, including employer-provided training either in their home countries or when they arrive in PNG.[12]
  2. Furthermore, both the 2007 Act and the 2009 Guidelines emphasize that foreign workers must possess specialized skills, to balance the rights of PNG citizens to employment with the needs of corporations to have skilled workers.[11][12]

In 2008, raids by the DLIR led to the arrest of 233 Chinese workers associated with the Ramu nickel mine, majority-owned by China Metallurgical Construction Group Corp and located in Madang, Highlands. The workers did not possess proper work permits, but business visas for entry issued primarily by the PNG consulate in Belgium.[13][14][15] A number of violent clashes subsequently broke out at the Ramu nickel mine.[16] Dissatisfaction amongst local Papua New Guineans that Chinese workers did not speak English, had actually dropped the required English classes, and often were lacking appropriate education regarding mining work, grew.[17][18] In May 2009, while speaking about these laws at the 25th Australia-PNG Business Council Forum, Nadile stated that—when she tried to turn down the work visa applications due to these issues—the corporation went over her head to the Prime Minister's office, which demanded that she "make it happen" ... “because the agreement has been signed to develop the Ramu nickel project.”[17][19] Among other accounts of that talk, The National reported on the "Permit Fiasco" exposed by Nadile on May 20, 2009.[10][20] The Prime Minister, Sir Michael Somare, joked on May 26 that he knew foreigners could get work permits for a bribe as small as "a six pack," and stating that the Department of Immigration should do a better job.[21] A press release from the DLIR, entitled "Clarification on media reports as published in The National paper dated 20th May 2009 with the headline 'Permit Fiasco'" David K.G. Tibu, Secretary of the Foreign Employment Division, reversed the Department's position, pointing out that "in the interest of the nation and for a good cause" work permits could be distributed to foreigners not meeting the required qualifications.[20]

Despite this change in direction, Nadile remained in her role at the DLIR. Until that is, she once more became a whistleblower in September 2011, when she charged Secretary George Vaso, her boss, with “gross misappropriation and inappropriate” use of government funds and went public with her report.[22] She questioned why the Secretary's contingent of eight employees needed to have an 18-day trip to Fiji for conference work that was lasting only eight days, and for which K241,867 was withdrawn for "travel, clothing, and incidental expenses," as well as a K500,000 trip to Geneva.[22] Secretary Vaso responded publicly that “opportunists” and “faceless hypocrites” were slandering him. Vaso confirmed that his use of funds was outside the allowable reasons, but argued the guidelines for spending were “well overdue for review.” Nadile was suspended for going public.[23] A group of fourteen police officers showed up at her home late one night to repossess her car.[24] Huge public outcry demonstrated public support for Nadile.[25] During the two years in which she was suspended and undergoing disciplinary procedures, Nadile reached the compulsory retirement age of 60.[3][26] When finally allowed to return to work in February 2013, at the age of 62, she experienced a lot of pressure to retire.[26]

Prime Minister Peter O'Neill hired Nadile to work for his office, instead, to unify the work permit and foreigner visa process.[26]

Running for Office

Nadile ran in the 2017 General Election, hoping to win the Samarai Mura open seat in Milne Bay. She and one other woman, Monalisa Lendia, contended with 20 male candidates.[27] She did not win the election.

Awards

In the months following Nadile's exposure to illegal work visas, she was presented with awards:

References
  1. "The honest public servant: Justice for Rona Nadile". Keith Jackson & Friends: PNG ATTITUDE. 2013-07-15. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  2. Kewei, Cynthia (2009-10-23). ""Women shine at the 2009 Westpac Women in Business Awards"" (PDF). Westpac.
  3. "Dept of Labour under microscope". The National. 2011-09-12. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  4. "Kerevat National High School". Papua New Guinea Education News. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  5. "The trials of Dr Nadile: PM O'Neill, please intervene". Keith Jackson & Friends: PNG ATTITUDE. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  6. "BRIEFS". The National. 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  7. Nadile, Rona Nibeta (2001). "In search of a vocation : the case for vocational training in Papua New Guinea". doi:10.25911/5d65150a040b4. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. "Prote-J's proud mum puts Attitude to rights". Keith Jackson & Friends: PNG ATTITUDE. 2011-06-01. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  9. "U.S. Exchange Program Alumni to Meet on Saturday". PNG Facts. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  10. "The Business Forum and the Chinese". Nineteen years and counting in Papua New Guinea. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  11. "Employment of Non-Citizens Act 2007" (PDF). Department of Personnel Management. 2007-01-10. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  12. Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (2009-01-01). "Work Permit Guideline" (PDF). Department of Labor and Industrial Relations: Foreign Employment Division. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  13. "41 ILLEGAL CHINESE ARRESTED AT PNG NICKEL MINE". Post-Courier. 5 Nov 2008. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  14. Post Courier. 10 Nov 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. "The Belgium Job: 223 Illegal Chinese Workers at Ramu". The Garamut. 2008-11-16. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  16. "UPDATE 1-PNG Ramu nickel mine work resumes after dispute". Reuters. 2009-05-15. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  17. CODERRE-PROULX, Mylène, Bonnie CAMPBELL and Issiaka MANDÉ (2016). International Migrant Workers in the Mining Sector. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---migrant/documents/publication/wcms_538488.pdf: International Labour Office.CS1 maint: location (link)
  18. "Ramu mine injunction reflects a more general failure to follow our National Goals | Act Now!". actnowpng.org. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  19. Chin, James (2010). "Papua New Guinea in 2009: Anti-Chinese Rioting and the Liquefed Natural Gas Deal". Asian Survey. 50 (1): 247–252. doi:10.1525/as.2010.50.1.247. ISSN 0004-4687.
  20. Sullivan, Nancy (2009-05-26). "Backpedaling". Nineteen years and counting in Papua New Guinea. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  21. "Six Pack for Passport Deals". PNG Post-Courier. 2009-05-26.
  22. "Officer blames boss for misappropriation". The National. 2011-09-13. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  24. "Whistelblower Nadile has car seized in late-night police raid". PNGexposed Blog. 2011-09-22. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  25. "Public use Social Networks to show their support for whistleblower Nadile". PNGexposed Blog. 2011-09-21. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  26. "The honest public servant: Justice for Rona Nadile". Keith Jackson & Friends: PNG ATTITUDE. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  27. "Five women contest in Milne Bay". The National. 2017-05-04. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  28. "No. 59093". The London Gazette (4th supplement). 12 June 2009. pp. 33–36.
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