Dili, 27 April 2000
The first tri-partite consultation on labour issues and the future labour law was concluded on Wednesday in Dili. Organized by UNTAET, the workshop gathered representatives of East Timorese labour organizations, experts from the International Labour Organization, UNTAET and participants from human rights organizations, student groups and the Church. Regrettably, no representatives of employers attended the workshop.
The event was organized with the aim of securing participation and input from East Timorese in drafting of the future labour law. A working group comprised of representatives of seven different organizations was formed to prepare the final report on the workshop. This report will be then distributed to all relevant stakeholders and should provide substantive input to the labour legislation which is to be drafted by UNTAET Legal Affairs Department and presented to the National Consultative Council for approval.
The regulation is expected to be passed by the end of June. In the meantime, the International Labour Organization will prepare a set of general guidelines which will be discussed by the Working Group and passed for signature to the Transitional Administrator within a month.
In a related development, an official notification was issued today by UNTAET establishing 1 May a public holiday in East Timor.
UNTAET PKF WITH NO NIGHT AIR MEDICAL EVACUATION
UNTAET Peacekeeping Forces expect to have an aircraft suitable to conduct night air medical evacuation on 7 May. Since 23 April, when the Australian Black Hawk helicopter assistance to the PKF was withdrawn, there are no helicopters with night vision ability in East Timor.
Department of Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations headquarters in New York is negotiating with possible contractors or nations to provide similar support.
